The rogue elephant of Goalpara district which was tranquilized on Monday was today christened as “Krishna” after Lord Krishna.
Nicknamed as ‘Laden’ by locals in and around Goalpara district, the rogue male elephant will be trained as a captive elephant under the Assam forest department.
A massive operation by the forest department led by Sootea’s BJP MLA Padma Hazarika on Monday tranquilized the elephant, which had killed many people in the past and destroyed houses and paddy fields.
Also read: Assam CM lauds MLA Padma Hazarika for capturing wild jumbo
“We are going to captivate the elephant. However, if we fail in captivating it, we are going to release it in a safe zone in the wild,” said Assam forest minister Parimal Suklabaidya.
Forest officials said the elephant got the name ‘Krishna’ as its capture on Monday coincided with the Raas Purnima, the auspicious occasion when Lord Krishna performed Maha Raas, the dance of divine love.
Also read: Assam: Laden finally captured
“Besides, as it will be captivated, we must give it a better name,” a senior official said.
“The official said Krishna will be shifted to Orang National Park for training. The two captive elephants of Padma Hazarika – Ramu and Bahadur – will be used to train Krishna,” he said.
The department has also decided that one of the elephant trainers of Hazarika would train the rogue elephant.
The elephant trampled to death five people including three women on October 29, forcing the state forest department to launch a massive operation to tranquilize it.
The department used drones to locate the rogue elephant’s location in Rongjuli forest division of Goalpara district in Western Assam.
Hazarika, who has substantial experience in tackling rogue elephants, assisted the forest department officials in tranquilizing the wild elephant.
