By Matters India Reporter
Guwahati: Allen Brooks, a top Catholic leader in northeastern India, has demanded a probe into the “bizarre” deaths of 18 elephants allegedly by lightning stroke.
The elephants were killed on May 13 atop Bamuni Hills in Assam’s Nagaon district.
The cause of death is yet to be ascertained, however, forests officials suspect lightning might have killed the elephants. The officials have also rushed to the spot to conduct a postmortem examination to ascertain the cause of the death.
“It’s absolutely absurd that 18 elephants would die together due to lightning strike. This explanation is too simplistic to be accepted, it has to be investigated by experts and supported with scientific evidence,” said Brooks, a Guwahati peace activist and spokesperson of the ecumenical Assam Christian Forum.
He further said: ‘On prima-facie it does not look like a case of lighting strike, as lightening does not strike in a scattered way.”
He quoted some experts suspecting poisoning as the cause of the deaths. “They also said that without a postmortem examination, it will be hard to concede that the elephants would have died due to lightning,” Brooks told Matters India on May 14.
The incident, he added, has “sent shock waves across the state as it was the first case in the country where such a large number of wild elephants have died.”
He urged the media to be relentless in their investigation “lest the death of these gentle giants will become another story in the footnotes of history while the perpetrators go scot-free.”
Brooks regretted that the elephants were in such a “bizarre way” when death looms large across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Elephant, Brooks explained, are “among the most intelligent animals” as they help maintain forest and savanna ecosystems for other species. They are integrally tied to rich biodiversity and are considered important ecosystem engineers, he added.
Amid demands for a probe, Assam’s new Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked Forest and Environment Minister Parimal Suklabaidya to rush to the spot to find out the cause of the elephants’ death.
Meanwhile, the government has set up a seven- member enquiry expert team led by the Deputy Conservator of Forest to probe the matter and submit a report within 15 days.