Assam CM to send its 4-member team to bring Joymala back from Tamil Nadu

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has formed a 4-member team comprising Forest, Veterinary & Police officials to inspect Joymala, the elephant who was in the headlines recently for facing torture in the hands of the mahouts in a temple complex in Tamil Nadu, and pave way for her safe return to Assam.

Assam CM will be sending the team today to inspect the condition of the elephant Joymala after a video showing the jumbo being tortured went viral on social media.

While speaking to India Today NE, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the government will bring back any elephant moved from Assam to other states if it discovers any proof of animal mistreatment. Additionally, he claimed to be in direct contact with the Tamil Nadu administration.

The state government’s decision to bring Joymala and other elephants that were transported from Assam to other states, was initiated after India Today NE published an investigative piece outlining how elephants from the Northeast are moved to other regions of India, primarily to states in the south, and are illegally kept captive even after the lease period has expired.

The news of mistreatment meted out to Joymala came into focus when the animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), released a video on Twitter showing Joymala, an elephant from Assam, being tortured by her mahouts inside a temple complex in Tamil Nadu.

While the video caught the national attention, the plight of other remaining eight elephants that are in the southern states came to notice via the exclusive report published by India Today NE.