The ugly side: Girl repeatedly molested by perverts during Ganpati visarjan

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 5: One man has been arrested in connection with the death of a pregnant elephant in Palakkad district here, Kerala Forest Minister K Raju said on Friday.

"One accused identified as Wilson has been arrested in connection with the case. More people are involved. The process to arrest all the accused is underway. Strict action will be taken in the matter to ensure such incidents are not repeated in the future," Raju told reporters here.

The elephant had died in Palakkad district on May 27 after it ate a pineapple stuffed with crackers and forest officials said that it died standing in river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw.

Raju said that the forest department has appointed three teams to probe the matter, and added that police are also investigating the incident as explosives were used.

"There may be some type of crackers inside the fruit. In such cases, blast occurs and the animal can not even drink water. The primary post mortem reports said that this case is like that. Let it be investigated," he said.

"Man and animal conflict is natural in our state as people residing close to the forests. The government gives compensation for farmers, Rs 10 lakhs compensation if a person dies in an animal attack," the Minister added.

The death of the pregnant elephant has sparked a controversy, with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan terming the unfortunate death as "a painful thing" and Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar saying that the Centre has taken a "serious note" of the incident.

According to the preliminary post-mortem report, the immediate cause of the death of the female elephant was drowning followed by inhalation of water leading to lung failure.

The elephant was seen standing in the river with its mouth and trunk in the water for some relief from the pain after the explosive-filled fruit exploded in its mouth.

Jaipur, Mar 18: Initially buried as per Islamic traditions, an unidentified man's body was exhumed and later cremated after he was found to be a Hindu in Rajasthan's Tonk district, police said.

The family members identified the body of Mahaveer Sahu on Tuesday, a day after the burial, as they stumbled upon photos of the deceased that had circulated on social media.

The man was brought to a government hospital by locals in an unconscious state on March 12 and he died on March 13, according to Purani Tonk police station SHO Shivlal.

The man was said to be a liquor addict and was found unconscious on the road, he added.

The body was kept at the mortuary for three days awaiting identification. Despite efforts to trace the next of kin, the identity could not be ascertained and members of Hindu and Muslim communities were brought in to take a decision, Shivlal said.

The community leaders presumed that he was a Muslim after examining the body and the burial took place as per Islamic funeral traditions on Monday, he added.

Meanwhile, Sahu's family members saw the photo of his body that had circulated on a WhatsAapp group and identified him later that day. They rushed to the hospital and then to the police station in the night where they were informed that the body had been buried.

“The body was exhumed with permission from the sub-divisional magistrate on Tuesday and handed over to the family members after proper identification. Members of the Muslim community led by an Imam were also present and gave in writing that they have no objection,” Shivlal said.

The body was later cremated by his family members.

Khammam, Jun 29: In an outrageous incident, some youths beat up a monkey and strung it up on a tree to death while also releasing dogs to attack it in Ammapalem village in Telangana's Khammam district.

A video of the heinous incident of animal cruelty has surfaced on social media, in which the monkey is seen hanging by a rope from a tree, desperately flailing its limbs while a couple of dogs attempt to pounce on and torment the hapless simian. After a while, several men are seen in the video approaching the animal with long sticks.

Forest officials have charged one villager Venkateshwar Rao under Wildlife Protection Act along with the other accused and arrested them. They were released on bail on Saturday and are set to be summoned for questioning by forest officials.

Rao had spotted the monkey, which had entered his residence apparently in search of food and beat it with a stick and hung it from a tree with the help of his friend.

In the video of the incident, Rao could also be seen instructing his pet dogs to bite the monkey, which was fighting for its life.