The Kerala government on Wednesday said a wildlife crime investigation team will probe the brutal killing of a pregnant wild elephant last month in a forest area in Palakkad district even as the Centre took a serious note of it and sought a report from the state. The elephant had consumed a pineapple filled with powerful fire crackers which exploded in the animal-s mouth in the Silent Valley Forest and died about a week later. As the incident triggered an outrage, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said a preliminary investigation has been launched into the death of the elephant in Mannarkad Forest division in Palakkad district and the police directed to take stringent action against those responsible for the act.

A wildlife crime investigation team from Kozhikode has been dispatched to the place of the incident for further investigation, he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram. Meanwhile, taking a serious note of the incident, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the Centre has sought a complete report and assured stern action will be taken against the culprits involved, a report from Kochi said.