
Laser light attack on elephants: Devaswom alleges agenda to disrupt Pooram
Paramekkavu Devaswom authorities have raised an allegation that secret lobbies may be working behind the scenes to sabotage the Thrissur Pooram festival by targeting elephants using laser lights.
Interacting with mediapersons here after the Pooram, Paramekkavu Devaswom secretary G. Rajesh claimed that laser lights were deliberately pointed to the eyes of elephants during Pooram events, including night parading and Kudamattom.
He raised suspicion that such lights might have led to the accident just before the Pooram fireworks in which an elephant ran amok, causing injuries to many.
He warned that had such an incident occurred during the Kudamattom it could have caused a massive disaster. Despite strict orders from the district administration against the use of laser lights during Pooram events, people continued to flash them during night-time processions and even during Kudamattom.
Mr. Rajesh called for a ban on the sale of laser lights at festival venues and demanded strict action against those using them. He stressed that the ultimate goal of certain groups might be to put an end to the elephant processions.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Indian Express
2 days ago
- New Indian Express
Thrissur Pooram fiasco: Top cop to submit report soon, ADGP refutes charges
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State Police Chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb, who conducted an inquiry to ascertain whether any lapses by ADGP M R Ajith Kumar led to the disruption of the 2024 Thrissur Pooram, will file his report before the government soon. Shaik, who is set to retire on June 30, will file the report within two weeks, sources said. As part of the probe, he recorded Ajith's statements last week. The ADGP has refuted the allegations of lapses. Sources said he told the police chief that he had ensured all measures for the safe conduct of Pooram and the junior officers failed in their duty to execute the action plan. Sources said Ajith also rejected the accusation that he wilfully chose not to respond to calls made by Minister P Rajan when the Pooram fiasco took place. He said he was in touch with the minister until 10.30pm and after that he went to sleep.


India Today
4 days ago
- India Today
24 years on, top court cuts sentence of men convicted of trading tiger skin, bones
The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of two men in a 24-year-old case involving the illegal trade of wildlife, but reduced their sentence from six years to three years of simple convicts, Makbool Ahmed and Rajesh, were arrested in Nagpur in 2001 for possessing tiger skin and other animal parts.A bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said the men were young at the time and that there was no evidence they had killed the animals 'It is evident that the appellants at the time of the offence were young in age. Moreover, it is also not the case of the prosecution that the appellants had themselves poached/killed the animals whose bones/claws/antlers/products were recovered. We are inclined to reduce the period of the sentences awarded by the courts below,' the bench two men were arrested in March 2001, following an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Acting on a tip-off, a special investigation unit of the CBI, headed by Inspector AK Bassi, caught the duo in a car near a petrol pump on Kamptee Road in who was in the driver's seat, was found with tiger skin on the front seat of the car. Rajesh, seated in the rear, was in possession of antler horns, 10 claws and three teeth believed to be of a accused were arrested on the spot, and the seized items was sent to the Director of the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun for expert analysis. The institute confirmed that the items belonged to a tiger, panther, leopard, hyena and two men were convicted in 2007 and sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment with a Rs 5,000 fine. They challenged the ruling in the sessions court and then in the High Court, but both appeals were revised sentence by the Supreme Court, delivered 24 years after the arrest, imposes three years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000 fine must be deposited within eight weeks with the Secretary, Animal Welfare Board of India, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying).Tune InMust Watch


The Hindu
4 days ago
- The Hindu
KTAP to give technological facelift to farming sector: Minister
The Kudumbashree Technology Advancement Programme (KTAP) will give a technological facelift to the farming sector by adopting modern technologies, said Minister for Local Self-Government and Excise M.B. Rajesh. He was speaking at the State-level launch of the programme at a technology conclave held at the Jain Deemed University here on Monday. 'KTAP will elevate rural livelihood initiatives to a new level. The State government aims to enhance the income of women entrepreneurs. The procurement of technologies will facilitate the modernisation and diversification of enterprises and provide a qualitative edge to their products,' Mr. Rajesh said. Kudumbashree has expanded its presence in the e-commerce sector by making its products available across the country. Over the last quarter of a century, Kudumbashree has succeeded in its mission of poverty alleviation. It has managed to lift 90% of the extremely poor families out of poverty. Kerala will be declared the first State in the country without extremely poor families on November 1, he said. The Minister also visited stalls displaying Kudumbashree's agriculture value-added products at the technology conclave. Kudumbashree Mission signed MoUs with the Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, the National Research Centre for Banana, the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, the Central Food Technological Research Institute, the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (Thanjavur), and Kerala Agricultural University. Kudumbashree also signed MoUs with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Institute, MG University, Lead College of Management, Jain Deemed University, Saintgits College of Engineering, Council for Food Research and Development, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute for imparting training and support. Thrikkakara municipal chairperson Radhamani Pillai presided over the function.