Arikomban is the name of a wild rogue tusker that created havoc in the chinnakkanal areas of the Idukki district in Kerala, India. The elephant has already killed more than ten people and caused several destructions to the farming and housing of local people. The draconian wildlife protection act in India makes it nearly impossible to kill harmful wild animals, and even capturing them is a cumbersome process for the provincial governments. The Government of Kerala decided to capture and cage Arikomban since it is the only legally feasible solution without creating chaos in other areas of the state.

The High Court of Kerala intervened in this issue and ordered that the elephant could not be captured and caged under any circumstances. The court said that the rights of wild animals are equal to that of human beings. The court also observed that human intervention and infiltration into the forests and aanatharas (elephant paths) are the ultimate cause of the havoc. This order raised protests from affected people and resulted in a court order to capture and translocate the elephant to the Parambikulam forest area. The people living around Parambikulam approached the court against this order. A division Bench of the Kerala High Court on 12-04-2023 ordered the State government to identify in one week a suitable site instead of Parambikulam for the translocation of wild rogue tusker Arikomban from Chinnakkanal. The court also observed that the selfish attitude of local people creates hindrances to the translocation of the tusker to their area.

Human beings built the world after centuries of conflict with nature. The city of Ernakulam was once a forest where Aanatharas (elephant paths) existed. The centuries-long continuous nature exploitation done by humans changed Ernakulam into the modern-day city that we see today. The people living in the rural and high-range areas are the most underprivileged people who were forced to live there due to their lack of social and economic privileges. Those people live a life of harmony with nature more than anyone else. Blaming them as the ones who infiltrated forests is absurd and a negation of history and facts. If that's the case, every human being invaded the forests at some point. The people living in rural high-range areas have every right to live a life of dignity and security like people in the cities. The lives and rights of those people are more crucial and valuable than the wildlife in the forest. The state should prioritise the concerns of its citizens over harmful wild animals.

Mangalavanam is a small forest area located in the heart of Ernakulam city. It is situated 1 km away from the High Court of Kerala and 3 km from Kaloor Judge's Avenue. Rice is a food staple for Arikomaban and hence should be available nearby. Kadavanthara Supplyco is just 4km away from Mangalavanam, which makes the place most suitable for translocating Arikomban. No matter how much people try to explain the atrocities they face from wild animals, it seems the people living in urban cities remain blinded by the immense privileges they enjoy and practice prejudices towards the rural people. Arikomban would surely be happy to live his remaining life with the selfless people of Ernakulam who cares for him the most. Hence through this petition, we seek the Government of Kerala to translocate Arikomban to the Mangalavanam forest area so that the urban people can also experience how it feels to sleep at night when a rogue tusker roams around freely near their homes.