GUWAHATI: A viral video has been making rounds on social media showing Joymala, an elephant from Assam being beaten and tortured by a new Mahout in a temple in Tamil Nadu with pliers to painfully twist her skin.
Numerous mahouts were earlier caught on video beating and torturing Joymala, who is being illegally held and chained to the floor in the sanctum sanctorum of the Krishnan Kovil Temple.
Appeals for her rescue and release to her natural habitat in Assam are pouring on social media yet again. The mighty elephant can be heard screaming in pain while being beaten ruthlessly by the new mahout in the viral video.
Following the directions of Tamil Nadu and Assam Forest Departments, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has submitted a new inspection report showing that the temple’s abuse of the elephant has been continuing from over a decade.
As per reports, PETA officials said that even after the Tamil Nadu Forest Department directed the organisation to inspect the elephant and report its findings, the new Mahout used pliers to painfully twist the elephant’s skin in front of the PETA inspectors.
The elephant in the video can be seen being held up using several ankuses in a shed for up to 16 hours a day and was forced to spend most of her time on concrete leaving her feet bruised.
Even after her 6-month lease period expired, the temple authorities at Srivilliputhur Nachiyar Thirukovil temple held her illegally and chained up the animal where she remained locked in terrible conditions for around 13 years.
PETA India has submitted a new veterinary inspection report to the Forest Department officials in Tamil Nadu and Assam showing the continuous abuse of Joymala who remains in illegal custody of the temple for over a decade and is now being kept at the nearby Krishnan Kovil temple in Tamil Nadu.
After PETA and the Animal Welfare Board intervened, an FIR was registered against the new Mahout under sections of the Indian Penal Code,1860 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Additionally, the Srivilliputhur Forest Range registered a wildlife offence report under the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA, 1972 along with the Tamil Nadu Captive Elephant (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2011.
In the first video, which went viral in February of 2021, two Mahouts were seen tying up Joymala to a tree and ruthlessly beating her. After the video emerged, Tamil Nadu’s Religious and Charitable Endowments Department suspended the two Mahouts in the video and booked them under Rule 13 of the Tamil Nadu Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules 2011, and Section 51 of the WPA, 1972. Despite these actions, the new video shows Joymala’s continuous abuse and torture continuing at the hands of the new mahout.
Team leader of WWF, India, Anupam Sharma, says, “We know about Joymala because of social media. There are many elephants from Assam which are being kept captive in temples across India, especially in South India. We should join the efforts in bringing all of them back. They are being taken away from their natural habitats and subjected to bullying and torture.”
Anupam further explains the process in which elephants are taken to other states and said, “According to the rules, owners of elephants are the States themselves. The caretaker is just a custodian. In cases where the custodian is unable to take care of the elephant, they can take permission from the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) or the Chief Wildlife Warden and send the elephant to a different caretaker in another state citing valid reasons and time period of return. The State allows elephants to be transported to other states of India and it is the State’s responsibility to bring them back after the lease time period has ended.”
आदरणीय @byadavbjp, @himantabiswa, @mkstalin, @supriyasahuias, @rameshpandeyifs, @mkyadava @PKSekarbabu @tnhrcedept हथिनी जैमलयथा पर लगातार जुल्म हो रहा है और इस बार उनकी त्वचा को प्लास से नोचा जा रहा है।#FreeElephantJeymalyatha pic.twitter.com/JiBYRBG3j0
— PETA India (@PetaIndia) August 26, 2022
