NEW DELHI: The killing of a pregnant wild elephant has triggered a nationwide outrage even as Kerala chief minister promised strict action against the offenders. “The forest department is probing the case and the culprits won’t be spared,” chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday.
Here is a look at some of the reactions on the murder of the elephant —
Prakash Javadekar, Minister of environment, forest and climate change
Central Government has taken a very serious note of the killing of an elephant in Kerala. We will not leave any stone unturned to investigate properly and nab the culprit(s). This is not an Indian culture to feed fire crackers and kill.

Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala chief minister
Strict action will be taken against those who are responsible for killing the pregnant elephant. Forest department is probing the case and the culprits will be brought to book.
Virat Kohli, cricketer

Maneka Gandhi, BJP
It’s murder, Malappuram is famous for such incidents, it’s India’s most violent district. For instance, they throw poison on roads so that 300-400 birds & dogs die at one time.
Shashi Tharoor, Congress
Pregnant elephant was fed a pineapple stuffed w/firecrackers & died horribly. Authorities are investigating and I didn’t tweet earlier, thinking it’d be superfluous. But Kerala must bring these criminals to book to preserve its reputation for protecting nature
Varun Gandhi, BJP
Cruelty to animals is not about animals, it is about the powerful victimising the weak. All life is connected. An elephant’s life or a cow’s life is of the same value karmically as any human: those who don’t see this don’t understand God.
Akshay Kumar, actor
Maybe animals are less wild and humans less human. What happened with that #elephant is heartbreaking, inhumane and unacceptable! Strict action should be taken against the culprits. #AllLivesMatter
Rohit Sharma, cricketer
We are savages. Are we not learning? To hear what happened to the elephant in Kerala was heartbreaking. No animal deserves to be treated with cruelty.
Dia Mirza, actor

Ahmed Patel, Congress
It is sad that the climate in our country has become so bitter that even in the tragic death of an elephant, some are trying to misrepresent the facts to twist into into an issue of one community vs the other?
Amit Malviya, BJP
The brutal murder of a pregnant elephant in Palakkad is not the first such instance. A month ago, a young female elephant, had died a similar death in Kollam. Pinarayi Vijayan is shedding crocodile tears and playing the victim because his government’ inaction has been called out.
Abhishek Singhvi, Congress
Most disgusting: pregnant elephant offered a firecracker laden pineapple by locals which exploded in its mouth and caused it to die. I don’t normally call for “eye for an eye” but the actual animals who did this must be treated the same way.
Ajinkya Rahane, cricketer
We need to treat our innocent creatures a lot better.
Vasundhara Raje, BJP
The horrific incident involving a pregnant Elephant in Kerala has left me deeply disturbed. Majestic & sacred, Elephants are held to be the reincarnation of Lord Ganesha.
Taslima Nasreen, author
What kind of people are they who feed elephants firecrackers? I feel sad when wild animals get killed. Animals are much better than humans. Humans need to learn a lot from animals.
Priya Dutt, Congress
I am shocked that a state with the highest literacy rate called God’s own country can be so cruel to their animals. The killing of a pregnant elephant is unforgivable & inhumane. This kind of cruelty against animals must not go unpunished, not anywhere in the country.
Randeep Hooda, actor
An act most inhumane to will fully feed a pineapple full of fire crackers to friendly wild pregnant elephant is just unacceptable…strict action should be taken against the culprits.
Pooja Bhatt, actor