It all began in May 2015, when an emaciated man walked into a forest office in Kerala and confessed to a crime. He was part of a gang of ivory poachers with links to middlemen of an international ivory trading racket.
Kunjumon became Aruku in Emmy-winning filmmaker Richie Mehta's hard-hitting show Poacher, which released on Amazon Prime Video on February 23, and has Alia Bhatt as executive producer. Mehta, however, has remained true to the story and as a result, the show is receiving rave reviews.
The suicide of a prime accused at a pineapple plantation, a race against time, inter-departmental squabbles, the country's largest ivory raid at a secret location in Delhi—these are all fiction rooted in fact, says Jayan Menon, the reporter who exposed the racket on the front page of the Malayala Manorama on June 29, 2015. Menon sketched out how 20 wild elephants were killed by poachers in the forests of Kerala. Here, he tells THE WEEK what really transpired, and how, sometimes, the truth really is more gripping than its own dramatisation.
This story is from the March 10, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 10, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Doctor's doctors
Internists deal with prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all kinds of diseases, while also coordinating with doctors across specialties
WORK THIS OUT!
What is the true cost of a 90-hour workweek? Reduced productivity, mental health issues and severe health risks, say doctors
The experience of oppression
The British enacted several laws that might appear liberal, only to then veto the invocation of progressive measures. Nevertheless, these milestones guided the founding fathers in conceiving and creating the Constitution of India
One, two, buckle my shoe!
“Darling,” I said to my life companion of more years than I care to remember, “Do you think there is any correlation between pain in the feet and attending prayer meetings?”“You really are a stupid old man!” said the light of my life. “Can’t you think of anything more bizarre so late at night?”
A helping hand
Over the past year, Imaginarium has placed 3D-printed parts in space, in human bodies, in oil fields in the Middle East, and as drones on the Indian border
Fading federalism
One of the most visible indicators of the erosion of state autonomy is the diminishing financial independence of states
FOUNDING MOTHERS OF THE CONSTITUTION
THEIR CONTRIBUTION IN THE MAKING OF THE REPUBLIC REMAINS EXEMPLARY AND INSPIRING
Value every breath
VO2 max is the best way to measure fitness and predict life expectancy
Statutes of unity
The Constitution reminds us that national oneness comes through addressing inequalities, not enforcing uniformity
Incomplete equality
Equal marriage rights is one of the last bastions of patriarchy and to dismantle it, the recognition of marital rape as an offence is non-negotiable
