Guwahati: Serious questions are being raised over the Assam Forest Department’s handling of captive elephants after a female elephant, Durga, was allegedly moved out of Manas National Park in the dead of night and transported to a temple in Tamil Nadu—without any public disclosure from the department.

Sources said Durga was secretly shifted from Manas National Park to the Meenakshi Temple at Madurai in Tamil Nadu, late on Monday night (September 7, 2026). The elephant was reportedly loaded onto a truck bearing registration number DD 01A 9525 and transported towards Tamil Nadu.

The alleged clandestine movement has triggered sharp questions over who authorised the transfer, under what legal provisions it was carried out, where the elephant is being taken, and why the Assam Forest Department has maintained silence over the entire process.

The department’s refusal to come clean has only deepened concerns among conservationists and animal-rights groups.

Sources said Durga is one of the five captive elephants—Rupsing, Shiva, Hiralal, Durga and Bijuli—that the Assam Forest Department is reportedly planning to transfer to Tamil Nadu.

What is particularly troubling is the secrecy surrounding the process. Despite the reported movement of an elephant across state borders, senior officials of the Assam Forest Department have remained tight-lipped, leaving crucial questions unanswered.

Sources claimed that an earlier attempt to move Durga was halted when IFS officer C. Ramesh was serving as Director of Manas National Park. The latest movement, however, allegedly took place under the cover of darkness.

A senior Forest Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that the elephant was transported at night to avoid public outrage.

If true, the allegation raises an even more disturbing question: Was the transfer conducted in a manner designed to keep the public—and potentially conservation groups—from knowing about it?

Senior officials under scanner

Three senior figures in the Assam Forest Department—M.K. Yadava, Special Chief Secretary (Forest); Vinay Gupta, Chief Wildlife Warden; and Dibya Dhar Gogoi, a retired Chief Conservator of Forests who is currently serving as a consultant—have been accused by sources of overseeing the proposed movement of the elephants to Tamil Nadu in a highly opaque manner.

The allegations could not be independently verified.

When contacted by Northeast Now, a senior official of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department confirmed that elephants were being brought from Assam to Tamil Nadu but declined to provide details about the animals, their destination or the circumstances of their transfer.

The refusal to disclose basic information has further fuelled concerns about the transparency of the operation.

Northeast Now could not reach Manas National Park Director Sonali Ghosh for comment despite repeated attempts.

Animal-rights group had already opposed transfers

The reported movement comes days after the Centre for Research on Animal Rights (CRAR) urged the Assam Forest Department to stop the proposed transfer of the five captive elephants to Tamil Nadu.

In a representation to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden of Assam, CRAR founder Alok Hisarwala Gupta said Rupsing, Shiva, Hiralal, Durga and Bijuli should instead be retained and rehabilitated within Assam rather than transported over a long distance.

According to Gupta, the elephants were reportedly being surrendered because their existing owners were unable to continue maintaining them.

He urged the department to first determine whether the elephants could be accommodated at existing or proposed elephant-care and rehabilitation facilities in Assam.

“It has recently been reported that a new elephant rescue facility is being established in Assam. There are also other facilities operated or supervised by the Assam Forest Department. A proper inquiry should therefore be undertaken into the capacity of these facilities to receive and care for the five elephants. Every reasonable possibility of retaining and rehabilitating them within Assam should be fully considered,” he said.

CRAR has also raised concerns over the origin and ownership history of the captive elephants, citing records placed before the Captive Elephant Healthcare and Welfare Committee.

The organisation has called for verification of the records of all five elephants, including their ownership history, age, microchip and DNA details, acquisition records, transfer and transport permissions, health and veterinary records, circumstances surrounding their surrender, and details of any agents, intermediaries or financial consideration involved.