Elephant tusks worth ₹2 crore stolen from Pangode Military Station in Kerala

The Poojappura police have launched an investigation into the alleged theft of two elephant tusks worth ₹2 crore from the Pangode Military Station in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The police suspected a link to a DJ party held at the premises.

The theft occurred at the Officers’ Mess within the station purportedly between 12 a.m. on February 11 and 9 a.m. on February 12.

According to the first information report (FIR), the complainant, Vinod G.S., a Subedar attached to 2 Madras Regiment, reported that unidentified persons trespassed on the mess compound with the intention of stealing the tusks and decamped with the ivory tusks.

The stolen items are part of artefacts that were handed over by the State government to the Army in 1929. Deer tusks and other seized goods too are kept in a strongroom, sources said.

The police have invoked Sections 331(4) and 305(e) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which pertain to house-trespass and theft-related offences.

The complaint further indicates that the theft may have been carried out by persons who had arrived at the military station in connection with a DJ party conducted there.

According to the police, a few people have been taken into custody and the probe was ongoing. The investigators are also expected to examine surveillance footage at the high-security military facility as part of the probe.