GUWAHATI: Assam forest officials on Tuesday “seized” the engine of a goods train that had on September 27 mowed down a mother elephant and her calf inside the Lumding Reserve Forest through which the tracks pass, the first time such action has been taken by authorities.
“The department shall not fail to take a tough stand against the railways. The killing of elephants on tracks must stop forthwith,” Assam’s environment and forests minister Parimal Suklabaidya said.
Divisional forest officer Rajib Das, who has been appointed as the investigation officer by the forest department, said, “The train engine is like the murder weapon. We have to seize the object involved in the commission of an offence. Here, it is the train engine… it’s just like the murder weapon.”
Assam’s chief wildlife warden Mahendra Kumar Yadava said that the forest department had “vigorously pursued” the case against the railway authorities un der the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The railways had already suspended the loco pilot and his assistant based on its own internal inquiry before the engine’s seizure on Tuesday. Yadava said the railway authorities have been informed through written instructions to restrict the speed of trains in areas inside the Lumding reserve that are prone to the movement of wild elephants.
While the Northeast Frontier Railway authorities claimed that the engine has been released and put back in service, Das said, “The engine has been seized and kept under custody of the railways for 45 days. They have to give us access to the engine whenever it is required for investigation purpose. If any incident happens with the engine while in custody of railways, they will be solely responsible.”