Arikomban (born  1986/1987) is a wild male Elephant from Kerala, India. Arikomban is a victim of the merciless land mafia, who has targeted him for their own vested interests. The elephant is accused of raids on local shops for rice and causing damage in Chinnakanal area of Munnar and is rumoured to have killed ten people and injured many. Forest officials and locals confirm that Arikomban has caused no harm to life and property , other than occasionally raiding ration shops and houses for rice.

In 2002, Kerala government rehabilitated tribals into 301 colony which is an elephant corridor. IFS officer, Prakriti Srivastava, had issued a warning against allowing human settlements in Chinnakanal but it fell on deaf ears . Most of the tribals left the place based on Navakiran padhathi( Rebuild Kerala) since it is a place frequented by wild elephant and human-wild life conflict was common.  The land mafia perceived the presence of elephants as an obstacle to their activities.Then they started spreading stories against Elephants using tribespeople and plantation workers as tools. A campaign was unleashed through local and social media and Arikomban became their first target. After looting Arikomban’s home, the land mafias filed a case to have him captured.The paradox is that,we, humans encroached his home, uprooted the trees , robbed his food, and replaced his habitat with our own homes made of bricks and cement and filed case on him. The hungry Arikomban's mistake is that he does not understand that his home is now human settlement and he is not supposed to 'steal' food from those human settlements.

On 29 April 2023, in accordance with the court order ,the Kerala wildlife department tranquillised and captured Arikomban from Chinnakanal and released into the Periyar National Park.However during the Kerala High Court hearing on April 12, 2023, the judge elucidated that the conversion of natural grasslands into eucalyptus forests, primarily to cater to human needs, has resulted in the deprivation of food and water sources for elephants and other wildlife.Arikombam gave up a very high resistance to the 150 member team and the four kumki elephants who came to capture and translocate him, though he was sedated with multiple shots.

On 5 June Tamil Nadu's forest officials tranquilised and captured the tusker again and  relocated deep inside Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.

I belive that i was able to provide you the background of the tusker. We would like to bring to your attention and intervention for concerns listed below which is of the interest of the common man in Kerala. A mass petition was given to Honarable Chief Minister of Kerala, which did not had any response yet.

1) The common interest of the Kerala was to maintain the tusker in his homeland with a radio collar as per the SOP of wildlife, which is the first option as per the SOP. If there is any casualities reported then the tusker can to be considered for option 2 and 3 subsequently. The  Forest dept were against the first option quoting they have limited resources and infrastructure.
2) The humans encroached his home, uprooted the trees , robbed his food, and replaced his habitat with our own homes made of bricks and cement. His land needs to be given back to the Animal kigdom
3) Ensuring Arikomban was administered with medical support to heal the wound incurred during the tranquilization by Forest Department
4) The tribal groups in Chinnakanal have demand that the elephant should be returned to its original habitat. They plan to approach the courts to bring the tusker back
5) The forest departments of the two states ( Kerala and Tamilnadu ) are lacking in Animal friendly approach though there was no casualties caused by the tusker
6) Cumbum incident showed that Arikomban was not a threat to human life. He was traumatised and chased but did not attack human beings. Forest Dept should be held responsible and immediate disciplinary action needs to be taken if there is any repetition
7) Restricting media to create Havoc among citizens and spreading rumours about wrong casualities without a basic enquiry 
8) The natural habitat in Chinnakkanal is lacking in natural food sources for these majestic creatures. Precautions needs to be taken for the existing wild elephants
9) Life of existing elephants like Chakkakomban, Murivalan and padayappa are under life threat and lack of food. Forest watchers should be held responsible

Arikomban now found himself at the centre of court battles. A politician filed a petition in the Kerala High Court asking for the elephant to be brought back to the state. A petition in the Madras High Court sought compensation for the damages he had caused in Tamil Nadu.

As an animal protection team member, I am appealing to you to take urgent action to protect Arikomban  and track his whereabouts. The forest officers involved in this situation must be instructed to take all necessary precautions to safeguard the well-being of Arikomban and other elephants in the forest.

I strongly urge you to intervene immediately to protect Arikomban and other animals in Idukki's forest. Please let me know if there is any additional information or support I can provide.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.