Assam: Captured on Raas Purnima, 'Laden' now called 'Krishna'; to help tame rogue jumbos

GUWAHATI: "Laden" - the dreaded elephant which became the other name of terror by killing five persons in one single night - has got a new name, " Krishna ", as he was tranquilized and captured on the day of Raas Purnima on Monday.

As "Krishna" was transported out of Goalpara on Tuesday, BJP legislator Padma Hazarika, who had fired the dart at the jumbo before capturing it, said like Lord Krishna, this wild elephant will now be turn into a saviour by protecting people from problematic elephants.

"There is no Laden from today. From now on, Krishna will help the forest department to save people from the menace of the problematic elephants after proper training. The farmers, who were worried to go to their paddy fields to reap their produce, are now free from any fear," Hazarika added.

On Monday night, reports of possible translocation of the wild elephant to Lumding Reserve Forest, about 350 km from Goalpara, had triggered protests in Lumding in central Assam 's Hojai district. But forest minister Parimal Suklabaidya on Tuesday clarified that the first attempt will be to turn "Krishna" into a captive elephant and not to release it in the forest again. "If possible, we will try to keep 'Krishna' as a captive elephant. But if we fail, it will be released in a secured zone so that no harm is caused in residential areas," said Suklabaidya.

Officials in the forest department said the wild elephant, which needs medical treatment after being tranquilized, was being brought to Orang National Park. They added that "Krishna" will be taken for training only after it becomes fully fit. Hazarika's two captive elephants - Ramu and Bahadur - are likely to be with "Krishna" till he receives training and becomes a captive elephant.

Spokesperson to the state forest minister, Sailendra Pandey, said, "For the first time, the state forest minister personally took the initiative to use a drone to track the wild elephant and blocked its movement. In the last one week, it could not cause harm to people. It was our utmost priority to ensure that the elephant gets captured and not killed. For us, it was a successful operation."