COIMBATORE: A CBI court here has sentenced four people to imprisonment in two separate cases involving the illegal electrification of farm fences that resulted in the electrocution of two wild elephants in Erode and Coimbatore districts.In the first case, a 25-year-old male elephant was electrocuted after coming in contact with an illegal electric fence in a farm near the Boluvampatti forest range in Coimbatore district in the early hours of Jan 5, 2021. Forest officials registered a case under the Wildlife Protection Act against the landowners, Aruchamy, 64 and his wife, Thilagavathi, 58. The case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).Upon completion of the trial, chief judicial magistrate K Sivakumar sentenced Aruchamy and Thilagavathi to five years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of them.In a similar case near the Jeerahalli forest range in Erode district, Kalaiya, 72, and his son, Madhappa, 38, tapped power directly from high-tension electric lines to power a fence around their maize crop. A 10-year-old male elephant died after coming in contact with the fence.CBI investigated the matter and filed charges against the father-son duo. Chief judicial magistrate Sivakumar sentenced Kalaiya and Madhappa to three and a half years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of them.CJM stated, “The crime committed by the accused for their personal selfishness resulted in the loss of a voiceless life, an elephant. An elephant is a grand creation on this earth, known for its deep intelligence and high sensitivity. In India, elephants are revered as sacred creatures in temples, worshipped, and carried in grand processions during festivals carrying deity idols.”“When farming in forest-adjacent areas—which are natural habitats for elephants—it is completely natural for them to consume crops to satisfy their hunger. Therefore, the act committed by the accused is not an offence deserving a reduction in sentence. There is even a famous Tamil proverb stating, ‘An elephant is worth a thousand gold coins, dead or alive.’ Hence, the sentence is hereby pronounced against them.”CBI special public prosecutor V Surendramohan represented the prosecution in these cases.
