Blaming the forest department for the death of ‘Madukkarai Maharaj’, the 18-year-old pachyderm who died in captivity, environmentalists today demanded the arrest of veterinarian V.S. Manoharan who allegedly fired the dart at the animal.

Staging a protest here, they alleged that the corporate houses were trying to pull farmers to their side against the wild animals to cover up illegal encroachments.

“The entire operation to tranquilize and trans locate the maharaj was a drama to please the corporates,” an environmentalist alleged.

The protesters demanded the arrest of Dr. Manoharan for darting the tranquilizer with overdose medicine that resulted in the animal’s death.

Claiming that the animals were entering human habitats as factories and educational institutions had occupied their space in the forests, they appealed to the farmers to understand reality and fight the corporates.

“The corporate houses are the culprits, not teh poor animals,” they said.