Guwahati: Serious questions are being raised over the Assam Forest Department’s handling of captive elephants after a female elephant, Durga, was allegedly moved out of Manas National Park in the dead of night and transported to a temple in Tamil Nadu—without any public disclosure from the department.
Sources said Durga was secretly shifted from Manas National Park to the Meenakshi Amman Temple at Madurai in Tamil Nadu, late on Monday night (September 7, 2026). The elephant was reportedly loaded onto a truck bearing registration number DD 01A 9525 and transported towards Tamil Nadu.
The alleged clandestine movement has triggered sharp questions over who authorised the transfer, under what legal provisions it was carried out, where the elephant is being taken, and why the Assam Forest Department has maintained silence over the entire process.
The department’s refusal to come clean has only deepened concerns among conservationists and animal-rights groups.
According to official communications from the Tamil Nadu Forest Department to its Assam counterpart, accessed by Northeast Now, Durga is one of five captive elephants proposed for transfer from Assam to Tamil Nadu.
A letter dated September 4, 2026, issued by Rakesh Kumar Dogra, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Tamil Nadu, from the State Forest Headquarters in Guindy, Chennai, was addressed to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam.
The communication concerned the proposed inter-State transfer of Durga to the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple and enclosed the Tamil Nadu Forest Department’s recommendation in Form IV under the Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules, 2024, for further action.
According to the letter, Durga is a five-year-old female elephant bearing microchip number 0008179117, owned by Punya Pegu, a resident of Laika (Pomua) Forest Village in Tinsukia district, Assam. The proposed transferee is the Executive Officer, Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
The same communication lists four other elephants proposed for transfer from Assam. Hiralal, an eight-year-old male owned by Samsul Hoque, is proposed to be transferred to the Arulmigu Anmachaleshwarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai. Shiva, a six-year-old male owned by Mukheshar Moran, is also proposed for the Arulmigu Arunachaleshwarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai.
Rupsing, a 13-year-old male owned by Piyal Moran, is proposed for the Sri Vaidyanatha Swamy Temple at Vaitheeswaran Koil in Nagapattinam district. Bijuli, a five-year-old female owned by Hiteswar Moran, is proposed for the Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Gajashala in Kanchipuram.
The official communications indicate that the transfer requests had formally reached the Tamil Nadu Forest Department by September 4. In a separate communication, the department said it had received proposals from the Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam, through communications dated between August 20 and August 29, and sought remarks on the requests in accordance with the Captive Elephant (Transfer or Transport) Rules, 2024.
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department subsequently forwarded the applications to the District Level Captive Elephant Welfare Committees in Madurai, Tiruvannamalai, Nagapattinam and Kanchipuram. The committees were directed to conduct detailed inquiries and physically verify the facilities at the proposed places of transfer, with specific reference to the requirements under the Tamil Nadu Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, 2011.
The department also directed the committees to submit specific recommendations in Form III, duly signed by the concerned District Forest Officer, Deputy Director or Wildlife Warden, along with details of the facilities provided for the elephants. The reports were to be submitted within 15 days of receipt of the communication.
Questions over secrecy
Despite the formal process reflected in the Tamil Nadu Forest Department’s communications, questions remain over the reported movement of Durga on September 7 and the manner in which it was allegedly carried out.
Sources claimed that an earlier attempt to move Durga was halted when IFS officer C. Ramesh was serving as Director of Manas National Park. The latest movement, however, allegedly took place under the cover of darkness.
A senior Forest Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that the elephant was transported at night to avoid public outrage.
If true, the allegation raises an even more disturbing question: Was the transfer conducted in a manner designed to keep the public—and potentially conservation groups—from knowing about it?
Senior officials under scanner
Three senior figures in the Assam Forest Department—M.K. Yadava, Special Chief Secretary (Forest); Vinay Gupta, Chief Wildlife Warden (to whom the letter is addressed to); and Dibya Dhar Gogoi, a retired Chief Conservator of Forests who is currently serving as a consultant—have been accused by sources of overseeing the proposed movement of the elephants to Tamil Nadu in a highly opaque manner.
The allegations could not be independently verified.
When contacted by Northeast Now, a senior official of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department confirmed that elephants were being brought from Assam to Tamil Nadu but declined to provide details about the animals, their destination or the circumstances of their transfer.
The refusal to disclose basic information has further fuelled concerns about the transparency of the operation.
Northeast Now could not reach Manas National Park Director Sonali Ghosh for comment despite repeated attempts.
Animal-rights group had already opposed transfers
The reported movement comes days after the Centre for Research on Animal Rights (CRAR) urged the Assam Forest Department to stop the proposed transfer of the five captive elephants to Tamil Nadu.
In a representation to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden of Assam, CRAR founder Alok Hisarwala Gupta said Rupsing, Shiva, Hiralal, Durga and Bijuli should instead be retained and rehabilitated within Assam rather than transported over a long distance.
According to Gupta, the elephants were reportedly being surrendered because their existing owners were unable to continue maintaining them.
He urged the department to first determine whether the elephants could be accommodated at existing or proposed elephant-care and rehabilitation facilities in Assam.
“It has recently been reported that a new elephant rescue facility is being established in Assam. There are also other facilities operated or supervised by the Assam Forest Department. A proper inquiry should therefore be undertaken into the capacity of these facilities to receive and care for the five elephants. Every reasonable possibility of retaining and rehabilitating them within Assam should be fully considered,” he said.
CRAR has also raised concerns over the origin and ownership history of the captive elephants, citing records placed before the Captive Elephant Healthcare and Welfare Committee.
The organisation has called for verification of the records of all five elephants, including their ownership history, age, microchip and DNA details, acquisition records, transfer and transport permissions, health and veterinary records, circumstances surrounding their surrender, and details of any agents, intermediaries or financial consideration involved.
Note: The story has been updated on September 10, 2026, with details from official communications from Tamil Nadu Forest Department accessed by Northeast Now concerning the proposed inter-state transfer of five captive elephants from Assam to Tamil Nadu.