Idukki: Acting on a tip-off, forest officials on Friday arrested a tribal man in possession of a pair of ivory tusks weighing 9 kg from Kurathikudy near Adimaly. The accused is Purushothaman (64). According to forest officials, Purushothaman became a part of the tribal hamlet after marrying a woman from Kurathikudy. He was presented before the Adimaly Judicial Magistrate on Saturday and has been remanded to judicial custody.
According to Adimaly Forest Range Officer Joji James, officials contacted the accused pretending to be buyers. They reached the tribal hamlet in Kurathikudy, where Purushothaman showed them the pair of tusks covered by sacks hidden inside a pile of stones. Officials of Adimaly and Devikulam forest range and forest intelligence officials from Thiruvananthapuram, who were part of the operation, then revealed their identity and took him into custody.
“The accused has told us during the interrogation that the tusks were handed over to him by two persons named Balan and Unni who are residents of Elamblassery on the Idukki-Ernakulam border. They are at large. How the tusks reached the accused can be ascertained only after questioning them. It is learnt that Unni also has married a woman from the hamlet,” said James.