Forest department pulls up crude bomb-makers

COIMBATORE: After a pregnant wild elephant in Kerala’s Silent Valley forest fell victim to a home-made bomb, the Tamil Nadu forest department has warned those who make such explosives (ottukkai).
“We seized six outtukkai used to hunt wild boars in the Coimbatore forest division during the lockdown. The bombs were handed over to police for further action. We can register cases under the Wild Life Protection Act Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, for hunting or attempting to hunt wild animals,” district forest officer D Venkatesh said.
The department is collecting details about those who make outtukkai. “We will submit the list to the superintendent of police for further actions,” Venkatesh told TOI.
On July 29, 2016, a three-year-old female elephant sustained severe injuries in its mouth when it bit an outtukkai in an agricultural field at Periya Thadagam here. Unable to eat, it died inside a brick kiln unit near Mangarai.
The department arrested 41-year-old R Murugan of Kuppanaickenpalayam village for planting the explosive. He was an agricultural labourer and used to stay in the field. He used to make such bombs with the help of two friends to hunt wild boars for meat.
“Such bombs can injure other animals and humans also,” said Venkatesh.