A plea was moved on Tuesday in the Kerala high court seeking directions to the Centre and the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments to ensure that rice-eating tusker Arikomban is not harmed while being tranquilised.
The plea was filed by Sabu Jacob, MD of Kitex Garments and president of an Ernakulam-based political party.
The wild tusker recently strayed into Tamil Nadu from Kerala and allegedly attacked a man in Theni who later died.
Known for its love of rice and ration shop raids in Kerala, Arikomban was last month translocated to the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the state, before it strayed into Cumbum town in Tamil Nadu's Theni district on May 27.
Subsequently, the Tamil Nadu government formed a team of experienced forest officials under the field director of Srivilliputhur Megamalai Tiger Reserve (SMTR) to nab the wild tusker.
Following this, Jacob moved the Kerala High Court seeking directions that the wild bull elephant not be injured or harmed while being tranquilised prior to its translocation and rehabilitation.
The plea, which is listed for hearing before a bench of Justices Alexander Thomas and C Jayachandran, also sought that the tusker be translocated to some other "deep forest range".
It also sought that the tusker be handed over to Kerala for being translocated to any of the forest divisions of the state.
