Assam: 'Laden' Breathes His Last in Forest Officials' Custody

Guwahati, November 17, 2019:

The murderous elephant, Laden, who was recently captured by Assam forest officials led by MLA Padma Hazarika, has died while being held in the forest department's custody. Laden, who was later renamed as 'Krishna' after the Hindu God, breathed his last at the Orang National Park, where he was taken to be trained.

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Certain sections of society have alleged that the elephant died after being tranquilized thrice by the forest officials of Assam, who, along with MLA Padma Hazarika, had set out to tame the wild jumbo.

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Reacting to Laden alias Krishna's demise, Hazarika told Inside Northeast, "The elephant was powerful, so we had to tranquilize it thrice. However, that is probably not the cause of its death. Laden's death is indeed surprising as he was strong and healthy when I saw him last; it was a strong sturdy elephant, 35-years in age, in the prime of his youth."

It may be mentioned here that after Laden was captured, the forest officials said that the elephant would be trained and then put to work. Moreover, talks were also on to transfer Laden to the Guwahati zoo.

Laden's death has cast a pall of gloom over the State of Assam, with the lakhs who followed the expedition to capture Laden, now mourning his untimely demise.

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