ગુજરાતી
English
Elephant missing – Ahmedabad Collector calls a meeting of Animal Cruelty Prevention Society
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, July 3, 2025
Elephants went out of control in Ahmedabad’s Rath Yatra. There is a huge protest across the country over the atrocities on elephants in the 148th Rath Yatra of the controversial Jagannath temple in Ahmedabad. Out of 16 elephants, one elephant and two female elephants ran away. The elephants were beaten to death. A weapon like a spear was also used to control the mahout. Cruelty was done by piercing the elephant’s ear with a spear.
After this incident, on July 2, 2025, the Ahmedabad Collector called a meeting of the Ahmedabad District Animal Cruelty Prevention Society. In which the beating of the elephant was discussed. But due to the people of BJP MP Narhari Amin, no order has been given in this regard. Whose president is a collector by profession.
Balram elephant has been sent from Assam. He was with his two sisters. Due to the noise and the huge crowd of people, one sister came for the first time and got scared. Balram tried to take her away to save her. People thought that the elephant had gone mad. Actually, he was taking his two sisters to a safe place.
Three elephants had gone out of control. They left the Rath Yatra and entered the pole. There was a stampede. In which three people were injured. The mahout controlled the elephant. But he was tortured with a spear. After the beating, he ran away again.
On June 27, when the Rath Yatra was passing through the Khadia area of Ahmedabad, an elephant named ‘Babu’ went out of control, causing a stampede. A major loss of life was averted. The elephants were separated from the Rath Yatra and taken to the elephant farm complex near the temple. The elephant was controlled by giving an injection and all the three elephants were taken out of the Rath Yatra and taken back to the temple.
The elephants were taken to Kashi temple. Balram elephant had gone mad. Balaram and his two sisters were there.
The ear was torn in the teeth.
The zoo officials believe that there are 2500 elephants in the country. People and forest department staff who saw 4 elephants in Banaskantha in February 2021 reported this.
World Elephant Day is celebrated on 12 August. There were 13 animals in Gujarat which have become extinct. Which includes leopard, tiger, elephant, lion, water cat, flying squirrel, barking deer, kakar, eagle bill, tortoise, turtle, aunt lizard.
73 elephants were caught in Dahod and Champaner i.e. Pavagadh in Gujarat in 1845. In the gazetteer published in 1880, Rajpipla and Chhota Udaipur were also known as wild elephant areas in the 17th century. In the 19th century it became extinct from its wild state forever from Gujarat. There are 10 elephants left under licence in Gujarat. Dr Sharva Shah is the superintendent of Kamala Nehru Zoo in Ahmedabad. He believes that a female elephant was scared by loud noises and seeing a huge crowd during the Rath Yatra. A male elephant took comfort. To provide safety to the female elephant, he started running to take her to a less crowded place. This is a natural process. Just as a human tries to protect his family on seeing danger, the male elephant was trying to take his two female elephants away from the crowd. Elephants are peace-loving animals. Elephants do not like crowds. A large number of people gather in the Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad, with DJ sound systems playing at high volume. Elephants accustomed to a calm environment feel embarrassed by the huge crowd and loud noises.
The elephant’s ears were flapping, the trunk was shaking and loud noises and attempts to move away from the crowd of people were signs of excitement. This can be misinterpreted as aggression or anger.
Elephants also feel uncomfortable in unfamiliar places. Animals unfamiliar with their surroundings are more likely to panic and get confused, which can lead to unpredictable behavior.
Elephants are sensitive animals. They can get angry if they are treated in a way they don’t like. Elephants feel uncomfortable when their trunk, ears or tail are touched.
The zoo staff, mahouts and police investigated and the matter was hushed up.
Video
The elephant was seen being tortured by the mahout. Gaikwad Haveli police sought a report from the Jagannath temple administrators to confirm the video.
Elephant beaten
On June 28, 2025, after the Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad, the elephant of the Jagannath temple was hit 19 times in 43 seconds. It is not right to beat an uncontrollable animal. Regarding the elephants creating a ruckus during the Rath Yatra, temple trustee Mahendra Jha said that the police are constantly pressuring to continue the Rath Yatra. Due to which the elephants got scared by the unnecessary whistling. The video has nothing to do with the rampaging elephants. The video is here but it is not known when it was made. We are investigating the video. 16 elephants and the uncontrolled elephant are in a safe place. Police 40 thousand police 17 elephants were examined, each had two mahouts. There were 35 mahouts. Forest officials investigated. A case was registered under the Wildlife Act. The mahout had fled. Statements of 35 mahouts were taken. But the mahout who tortured the elephant was not in it. Haikwad police investigated. The video was not from the day of Rath Yatra or after that. Police believe that the video is from before Rath Yatra. During investigation, the grass growing on the ground in the video was not there. Out of the 17 elephants, Balram Gajraj goes to them. Forest officials come. They were taken to the field near Suez Farm
In Gujarat, people are allowed to keep only 20 elephants.
Jha’s naughty talk
Elephant in Ahmedabad
Regarding the cruelty done to the elephant, Mahendra Jha, the controversial trustee of the Jagannath temple, said that the video is from the elephant enclosure. What happens when an elephant is beaten with a thin stick? It is possible that a fake video of the mahout has been made to gain cheap popularity. The elephant came from Rajasthan for the Rath Yatra. A stick is also used to teach the elephant. It cannot be said that the elephant is being beaten. Since the elephant was from outside, the mahout was also from outside. The truth will come out after the mahout is found.
Jagdish Maharaj’s lie
Jagdish Maharaj is the manager of the elephant enclosure of the Jagannath temple. The temple managers and the elephant enclosure manager have exposed this whitewash. Jagdish Maharaj said that the person beating the elephant in the video does not work in the elephant enclosure. The unruly elephants were brought to the temple safely. They were treated by a doctor. The video is not of the elephant enclosure of the Jagannath temple. The video has been uploaded to defame the temple managers.
Animal welfare organizations and animal lovers are demanding a thorough investigation of the matter and strict action against the culprits.
Political Rath Yatra
After all, 275 people died in the plane crash in Ahmedabad, so the temple officials wanted to take out the Rath Yatra in a simple way. In which they wanted to keep only trucks of Prasad and 3 chariots. They also discussed this with the state government. But instead of being humane to maintain the funeral process, they probably asked to take out the Rath Yatra in a colorful way. Because at the behest of the BJP, banners of Operation Sindoor were put on the trucks. The Home Minister of the Center and Gujarat came to the Rath Yatra. The Chief Minister also came. If the Rath Yatra had been taken out in a simple way, there would not have been so much ruckus. In this way the BJP government gave a political turn to the Rath Yatra.
Members of the Society
The members of the Ahmedabad District Animal Cruelty Prevention Society include President (ex-officio) – District Collector
Vice President (ex-officio) – District Development Officer
Vice President (ex-officio) – District Superintendent of Police
Vice President (ex-officio) – A well-known humanitarian engaged in animal welfare activities in the district, who will be identified by the President (name and designation only, if any, at the time of appointment)
Honorary Secretary (ex-officio) – Deputy Animal Husbandry Director, District Panchayat Assistant Animal Husbandry Director. District Panchayat (in case of Dang and Gandhinagar Districts)
Executive Secretary (Executive) – A well-known humanitarian or honorary animal welfare officer who will be identified by the President (name and designation only, if any, at the time of appointment)
Members (non-official only) – Two members elected by the general body of the members of the Society.
Member (Non-Government) – Two members of Animal Welfare Organisations of the District, to be identified by the Chairman (where name and designation, if any)
Member (Executive) – District Forest Officer
Member (Executive) – Regional Transport Officer
Member (Executive) – Joint Municipal Commissioner or Deputy/Municipal Commissioner in State Corporation area.
Member (Executive) – District Education Officer
Member Representative of Animal Welfare Board of India
(Google translation from Gujarati)
