New Delhi, June 4 (IANS): After two persons were taken into custody for the death of an elephant in Kerala, Congress treasurer Ahmed Patel has lashed out to people who want to take advantage of the situation and misrepresent facts to divide the society.

Patel tweeted: "It is sad that the climate in our country has become so bitter that even in the tragic death of an elephant, some are trying to misrepresent the facts to twist into an issue of one community Vs the other?"

Meanwhile, Kerala forest department team probing the killing of the pregnant elephant is leant to have taken two persons into custody.

The local Manarakadu police station on Wednesday registered a case in the gruesome incident.

"The forest department and the police are probing the incident and we are confident of finding the villains behind this crime," said Sub Inspector of Police T.K. Ramachandran.

According to veterinarians who treated the 15-year-old pregnant elephant, some miscreants while chasing away the elephants who occasionally stray into the agricultural land had kept fire crackers inside a pineapple.

When the elephant started eating it, the crackers burst, seriously injuring its upper and lower jaw and tongue.

The injured elephant, according to forest officials, was first spotted by locals near a water source on May 23. Two days later an elephant expert after a medical assessment said things were bad for the animal.

On May 25, the elephant was found dead in slushy water.

"Despite our best efforts to get the elephant out of water, it did not come out and died," said a local villager.

A post-mortem conducted on the elephant two days later reveled that the elephant was two-month pregnant. Experts pointed out that this was the elephant's first pregnancy.