The Breaking Of The Second Precept

• More arrests are imminent as new information is revealed about the extent of the elephant racket

by Hafsa Sabry

Dhammaloka Thera, Magistrate Gamage and Sumangala Thera were alleged to have had in their possession baby elephants that had not been registered in the elephant registry at the Department of Wildlife Conservation.

Domesticated Elephants

According to Section 22(A) as amended in 2009 of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO), any person who owns, has in his/her custody or makes use of an elephant which is not registered, and a license obtained in accordance with the provisions of this section, shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not less than one hundred thousand rupees and not more than two hundred thousand rupees or a term of imprisonment not less than two years and not exceeding five years or both such fines.

Meanwhile, Police Media Spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekara told The Sunday Leader that information as to whether it was Dhammaloka Thera who had given the baby elephant to Magistrate Thilina Gamage has not been revealed to the police by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

ASP Gunasekera said in the event the investigation details are leaked to the media and thus publicised, the investigation process would be hampered.

Dhammaloka Thera is alleged to have had an unregistered baby elephant and an adult she- elephant in his possession which is a punishable offence.

Animal rights activists and organisations had for long complained of this illegal practice but were unable to get the police to arrest the law breakers since most of the offenders were either members of former First Family or their supporters. Soon after the election on January eighth, 2015 that ousted the Rajapaksas, there was an outcry from animal rights organisations asking the new government to arrest those who were in illegal possession of elephants. It was in this backdrop that former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa handed over the two elephant calves in his possession to the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) claiming that he was unable to look after them.  “This act alone showed how the Rajapaksas were keeping elephants illegally for their own prestige. Since he knew he could be arrested for keeping unregistered elephants he immediately handed them over to the DWC to escape the legal process,” Chairman Species Conservation Centre, Pubudu Weeraratne said.

It was on January 28, 2015 that the Department of Wildlife Conservation raided Alan Methiniyaramaya, Polhengoda where wildlife officials found an elephant calf believed to be around two and a half years old with another female elephant believed to be around twenty years.

Colombo Additional Magistrate, Nishantha Peiris instructed wildlife officials on January 30, 2015 to send the baby elephant to the Udawalawe elephant orphanage. Although it was an open secret that Dhammaloka Thera was keeping a wild elephant at his temple, he told the Willdlife Department and the police that the baby elephant was found abandoned near Alan Methiniyarama temple following a procession and he only looked after the animal.

On December seven, 2015 the CID informed court that the baby elephant was neither registered neither under Dhammaloka Thera nor under the name of the temple which showed that it was an illegally kept elephant. Although the CID sought the Attorney General’s advice to act on the charges levelled against Dhammaloka Thera, the then Attorney General’s Department had failed toprovide any instructions to the CID.

“Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera is close to the former President and the monk even went all over the country promoting Mahinda Rajapaksa at the last presidential election. Since this monk was a Rajapaksa loyalist, the then Attorney General’s Department did not want to see legal action being taken against him. It was only after the new AG was appointed, the CID was ordered to arrest the monk for violating FFPO,” a CID officer said on condition of anonymity.

After the arrest order was given against Dhammaloka Thera, Colombo Fort Chief Magistrate, Thilina Gamage who also allegedly had a baby elephant in his possession, filed a Fundamental Rights application seeking an injunction order against his looming arrest. However the Supreme Court refused leave to proceed with the petition.

Chief Magistrate Gamage was not only accused of keeping an elephant but is also alleged to have submitted forged documents to the DWC to get his elephant registered. When the animal rights activists informed the Attorney General’s Department about the illegal elephant registration by the DWC, it came to light as to how Gamage who is a legal luminary had got the Homagama Divisional Secretary’s and the respective Grama Nialadhari’s signatures forged to show that his elephant calf was born to a domesticated registered female elephant.

It was reported that the baby elephants that were in the possession of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had been given through a presidential decree (sannasa) to which the Attorney General has made a determination that handing over an elephant to other persons through such a decree is illegal and therefore the process followed to hand over two elephant calves to the former Defence Secretary should be investigated.

It was revealed that the former Defence Secretary had made a request to the Department of Wildlife Conservation on January 16, 2015 to get the two elephant calves registered but the Department had rejected the request as the case is still under investigation. The main suspect in the elephant smuggling racket Ali Roshan was earlier arrested and granted bail. However it was reported at one of the magisterial inquiries in the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court that Ali Roshan was the mastermind behind the smuggling racket where smuggled elephant calves were being sold. The prosecutors had further stated that the investigations have revealed that Ali Roshan was directly involved in selling 39 wild elephants and had been in the ‘business’ for the past 15 years.

Meanwhile, Pubudu Weeraratne said he is fully satisfied with the police investigations into the illegal elephant racket and added that the DWC has arranged appropriate space at Eth Athuru Sevana in Udawalawe for the smuggled elephants.

“There are several cases in this elephant racket and ‘fact-reporting’ is being carried out with regards to some of the cases including Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Thilina Gamage. Therefore once the fact-reporting is concluded and when they are reported to court, suspects will be charged if proven guilty,” Weeraratne added.

However Weeraratne said that the government authorities should be vigilant to ensure the baby elephant racket does not raise its ugly head again and that elephants will not be smuggled from the wild in the future.

“Supporters of the previous regime used state power to the maximum to stop the Wildlife Department from acting against them,” Weeraratne alleged.

He further stressed that if there still were wildlife officials who help in illegal registrations they should be removed from their posts.   According to the former Deputy Minister Wildlife Conservation, Wasantha Senanayake, rules and regulations should be strictly implemented against those who abuse the system of registering elephants illegally in the log book and those who are in possession of illegal elephants.

He said he had suggested that DNA and genetic testing be carried out on all registered elephants and that DWC officials should visit them on a regular basis to check the elephants’ health and other facilities provided by the owners.

“If the criterion for keeping animals is not met, the license should be revoked promptly,” Senanayake said.