As the murder of a pregnant elephant in Kerala's Malappuram has triggered nationwide outrage, Union Minister Smriti Irani termed it as a 'heinous crime' that does not represent the Indian culture. Speaking to Republic TV, she said questioned the silence of the Kerala government and the local administration while asserting that the Centre will take strict action against the culprits. 

"The minister concerned Prakash Javadekar ji has already made a public statement, his ministry has not only taken cognizance of this particular crime but it is also pursuing justice by collaborating with the state government and has sought a report. What needs to be highlighted here, until there was a national outrage, we did not see a semblance of the pursuit of justice in terms of ensuring that such crimes do not take place or for that matter why culprits were not punished. My question is why the local administration did not assure justice until the nation went up-in-arms?," Irani said.

This comes after Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar took cognizance of the inhuman and atrocious act and sought a detailed report from the state government. He assured that stern action will be taken against the culprits. Terming it an act against the 'Indian Culture', he said that the government would leave no stone unturned to nab the culprits. "We have sought a complete report on the incident. Stern action will be taken against the culprits," he said.