Kerala govt to act in accordance with court verdicts in Arikomban issue

The Kerala government on Tuesday made it clear that it has the responsibility to act in accordance with the verdicts of the judiciary and that a suitable location to relocate rogue elephant 'Arikomban' would be identified soon.

Wildlife officials have been asked to find out the new place for the same and submit a report in this regard, Forest Minister A K Saseendran told reporters here.

His statement comes a day after the Supreme Court had refused to entertain the appeal of the state government against the High Court order asking it to translocate the tusker to the Parambikulam tiger reserve in Palakkad district.

The state government wanted the rice-eating elephant to be sent to a training centre, noting it had killed seven people and destroyed several homes, but the apex court observed that the Kerala High Court had given a "reasoned" order based on the views of the expert committee.

"As a government, we have the responsibility to act in accordance with the verdicts of the ...