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Environmentalists and right s activists write to the IGP urging him to take action against illegal care takers of elephants
September 20, 2021
Environmentalists and rights activists fighting to prevent a group of elephants from being in the illegal possession of their caretakers have asked the Inspector General of Police to prosecute these individuals and the state prosecutors and investigators in the cases.
A letter of demand addressed to IGP C. D Wickramaratne from the Centre for Environmental Justice was handed over to police headquarters earlier today.
In addition to the caretakers of the elephants, the letter demanded that officers in the CID, Attorney General’s department and other state institutions involved in the illegal and unlawful release of the elephants are prosecuted.
Earlier this month an additional magistrate in the Colombo Magistrates Court gave an order for the 15 elephants to be handed back to their caretakers. The elephants were in the care of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) and the Department of National Zoological Gardens while the state was carrying out inquiries into their illegal possession when the order was made. The way in which the order was allegedly executed has raised concerns.
Except for a calf and her mother, the other elephants have been taken away by their caretakers. When the case was heard last on 16th September, the court asked the DWC for a report on the calf and mother.
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