Heartwrenching Video of Cruelty Against Jayalalithaa's Elephant In Kerala Goes Viral, 2 Suspended

Kerala: Two mahouts were suspended when it was alleged that they had severely beaten an elephant, named Krishna at the Guruvayur Temple. The tragedy came to light on Thursday morning when video footage of the mahouts severely abusing the elephant as part of a routine ritual at the temple surfaced. It is believed that the incident took place about two months prior to the video going viral. 

The Disturbing Video

The incident took place in the  paddock in the southern part of the country where the elephants for Shiveli are tied. From the video, it is evident that the elephants were subjected to constant beatings with a stick known as a "Vadikkol" in order to train them. Three separate video grabs are used in the clip. One depicted the late J Jayalalithaa's elephant, Krishna, being thrashed by the mahout. The mahout can be seen beating up Kesavankutty, an elephant, in the second video grab. Gajendra, a third elephant, is seen walking with difficulty in the third footage, probably as a result of the mahouts' beatings.

Jayalalitha Gifted One Elephant

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha donated one elephant, named Krishna to the temple. The deputy administrator in charge of the elephant shed and the veterinary physician have been asked to submit a report to the Devaswom Chairman VK Vijayan. The 13-member governing council would discuss the situation before deciding on any further action, according to Vijayan. The forest department also filed two cases against 6 Mahouts including Sarath (Krishna's mahout), Vasu (Kesavankutty's mahouts), Suresh Babu and Mohanan, following the release of the video. Upon viewing the visuals, the Devaswom Division bench of the Kerala High Court also filed a case suo motu.

Both Krishna and Kesavankutty's mahouts were suspended shortly after the video was made public on X, formerly Twitter. The incident on Thursday was followed by a thorough medical assessment of the elephants as well.