A court in Chhattisgarh has jailed the owner and mahout of an elephant who illtreated it and used it to beg and entertain people in the streets. The cruelty inflicted on the animal resulted in its death in Sarangarh. The elephant was bought by mahout Lalmani Gautam from Tarkeshwar Dubey at a cost of Rs. 50000 per month.

The mahout blinded the tusker by damaging its eyes which was revealed in the autopsy. According to Dr Jai Kishor Jadiya: “It was the brutal handling of the animal, which was found blind in both eyes. The eyeball structure couldn’t be recognised. It appears the eyes were damaged by some pointed object. The elephant was forced to walk despite noticeable injuries in both forelimbs. Severe deficiency of blood and the failure of kidneys led to a depleted health condition and consequently its death.” The doctor had submitted the health report of the female elephant.

Apparently, the cruel damage to the eyes is to prevent the elephant from running amok or attacking people. The animal’s health was found to be neglected for a long period of time. The ownership certificate did not match and there was no microchip found. Nitin Singvi, a wildlife enthusiast wrote to the UP Chief Minister saying it was “sad a blind female tusker was killed owing to barbaric and cruel treatment. The UP government should trace out how many such elephants are held in captivity. And they should be taken to Elephant Centre at Yamuna Nagar in Mathura for their proper management and care.”