The Assam government has made the decision to dispatch a team of forest department officials to Tamil Nadu to investigate claims that the elephant Joymala was tortured at a temple in the south Indian State.
The mistreatment of Joymala was revealed on August 26 by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India. A mahout was shown in a video torturing Joymala with pliers and other tools.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, stated that the state will use all legal means to bring the elephant back if the investigation team discovers any proof of mistreatment.
“It’s not about just one elephant. Our government is committed to rescuing other captive elephants from Assam if they are subjected to cruelty. But at the moment we are verifying the claims of cruelty,” Chief Minister Sarma was reported as stating to the reporter.
The Assam Forest Department intends to file a lawsuit against the Tamil Nadu government for failing to return the elephant in the interim. The Tamil Nadu government’s lack of cooperation prevented MK Yadava Joymala, an adult female elephant who serves as Assam’s principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden, from being returned to the state.
After more than a year of correspondence, according to Ydav, the chief wildlife warden of Tamil Nadu issued an order in April of this year approving the removal of Joymala.
“However, the technical problem is that the Tamil Nadu forest department needs to take possession of the animal. It is only then that we can bring it. Otherwise, it will become a case of robbery,” Yadava was reported as saying to the reporter.