インド警察、爆発物入りの果物置いた男逮捕　妊娠中のゾウの死を受け

【ニューデリーＡＦＰ＝時事】インド南部ケララ州で、妊娠中のゾウが爆発物の詰まった果物を食べて死んだ出来事をめぐり、当局は6日、警察が農園労働者の男を逮捕し、別の関係者2人を捜索していると明らかにした。（写真は娠中の野生ゾウの死骸〈中央〉）
　１５歳のゾウは先週、重傷を負った口と胴体が水に漬かった状態で川の中に数時間立ち尽くしたまま、徐々に衰弱して死んだ。その様子を捉えた映像が拡散されると、インターネット上に戦慄（せんりつ）が走った。
　逮捕されたのは、ゴム園で働くＰ・ウィルソン容疑者。同容疑者は５日、主に野生のイノシシといった動物をゴム園に近づけないようにするため、爆発物を詰めた果物を置いたとして逮捕された。
　ケララ州野生生物当局のトップを務めるスレンドラ・クマール氏はＡＦＰに対し、「男は、野生動物を狙って爆発物を詰めたココナツを使用したことを認めた」と述べ、関係者２人が今も逃亡中だと明かした。
　クマール氏によると、男たちは５月の第２週に「ココナツ爆弾」を複数製造し、プランテーションの境界線付近に置いたという。当局は爆発物の入った果物をゾウがいつ食べたのか正確には分からないとしているものの、ゾウが負傷した状態で発見されたのは先月２５日で、その２日後に死んだ。
　森林当局者は、爆発によってこのゾウが口に重傷を負い、数日間食べたり飲んだりすることができなくなっていたと話している。
　有罪となれば、同国の野生生物に関連する法の下、保護対象の動物であるゾウを殺したことで最高７年の刑期が科せられる可能性があるという。
　南アジアでは最近、都市化によってさらに森林が失われたことによって大型動物と人間とのあつれきが増え、被害が相次いでいる。
　インド各地の村人たちは、自分たちの作物や家を脅かす野生動物を狙ったわなとして、圧力式地雷の要領で起爆する爆発物の詰まった果物をしばしば使用する。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/06/08-12:58）

Indian police have arrested a plantation worker and are hunting two others after a pregnant elephant died after eating fruit laced with explosives, officials said Saturday, in a case that shocked the country.
The elephant died in agony last week in the southern state of Kerala, the latest casualty of a growing conflict in South Asia between nature and humans as ever more forest is lost to urban expansion.
Footage of the animal standing in a river for hours with its badly injured mouth and trunk in the water as it slowly weakened went viral, triggering horror online.
P. Wilson was arrested on Friday after he allegedly placed fruits filled with explosives to keep creatures -- mainly wild boar -- away from his rubber plantation.
The man has admitted that they used the explosive-filled coconuts to target the wild animals, Surendra Kumar, Kerala's chief wildlife warden, told AFP.
Two of his associates were still at large, the officer said.
Kumar said the men made several coconut bombs in the second week of May, and left them near the plantation boundary.
Officials said it was unclear when exactly the 15-year-old elephant consumed the rigged fruit but it was found injured on May 25, two days before it died.
Forest officials said the explosion caused severe damage to its mouth, leaving the creature unable to eat or drink for days.
Villagers across India often use explosive or firecracker-filled fruits -? which act like pressure-activated landmines ?- as bait to target wild animals that threaten crops and homes.
A similar incident was reported last month in a nearby Kerala district, when a female pachyderm was found with serious mouth injuries.
If convicted, the men could face up to seven years in jail for killing an elephant, a protected animal under Indian wildlife laws.
- Lord Ganesh -
The latest incident caused widespread outrage on social media, including from several sports and Bollywood celebrities, who condemned the inhuman act and called for harsh action against the perpetrators.
But it stirred another controversy after several Hindu right-wing figures on social media turned the death into a hate campaign against Muslims, falsely claiming that the community were behind the incident.
Many right-wing Hindu figures alleged online the creature was specifically targeted because the animal is an embodiment of Lord Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu deity.
Members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, including environment minister Prakash Javadekar and parliamentarian Maneka Gandhi, also claimed the event happened in Malappuram, a Muslim-majority district.
The incident took place in Palakkad district, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) away.
India is home to nearly 30,000 elephants, equivalent to 60 percent of the world's wild Asian pachyderms.
But urban expansion has put the animals in conflict with humans.
About 2,360 people were killed in elephant attacks between 2014 and 2019, according to Indian government data.
In the same period about 510 elephants died, including 333 from electrocution and roughly 100 from poaching and poisoning, the figures stated.