Ganesh Kumar's elephant and elephant tusks; Forest Dept yet to take final decision

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the absence of clear documents regarding the ownership of the elephant and elephant tusks in possession of Minister KB Ganesh Kumar, the Forest Department has started an inquiry to assess the possibilities of further action. The forest officials are looking into whether the elephant and tusks can be taken over by the Forest Department. However, both the Forest Department officials and Ganesh Kumar, who was a former Forest Minister, have not commented on the matter.

A recent RTI document revealed that Minister Ganesh Kumar doesn't actually own the elephant and tusks that have been in his possession for years. The only documents supporting his ownership are a microchip, certificate, and data book. The elephant originally belonged to his father, former minister R Balakrishna Pillai.

There is no record with the Forest Department regarding how the elephant came into the possession of Balakrishna Pillai. The Forest Department has not yet made a decision about transferring the ownership of the elephant to Ganesh under the property ownership law. The RTI document mentions that Balakrishna Pillai did possess the tusks, but the department has no information about how he came to own them.

One of Balakrishna Pillai's daughters had earlier handed over the elephant tusks in her possession to the Forest Department after she failed to confirm the ownership of the two tusks received from Balakrishna Pillai. It is also reported that the Forest Department has taken over five pairs of tusks that were in Balakrishna Pillai’s possession. Following this, Ganesh Kumar reportedly informed the officials that he was willing to hand over the tusks he held to the Forest Department. However, the Forest Department officials have not confirmed this. There is growing protest over the Forest Department's lack of action regarding the elephant and tusks being kept by the minister without proper ownership documents.