Kerala reported the fourth human casualty in wild elephant attacks within a week as a man was trampled to death at Attamala in Wayanad on Tuesday night. The deceased is Balakrishnan (27), a native of Attamala. The jumbo reportedly stomped Balakrishnan to death at HML tea plantation. He was on his way home with his friends after purchasing groceries. 

This is the second fatality recorded in Wayanad due to a wild elephant attack within 48 hours. Manu, 45, a resident of the Kappad tribal settlement near Noolpuzha, was grabbed and flung to death by a wild elephant on Monday night. The incident occurred in a region heavily inhabited by tribals. The latest death has happened at a time when the Forest Department and the state government are facing intense public outrage over the loss of human lives and frequent instances of wild elephants straying into human habitation. The department officials have been finding it hard to deal with the enraged crowd who allege that there were lapses in ensuring proper fencing and maintenance of security measures.

Public protest has been simmering in Idukki, where two deaths were reported. Sofiya Ismail, a 45-year-old woman, was killed near TR&T estate by a wild elephant. She was trampled to death while she went to the stream to take a bath. A 60-year-old man, Vimalan, from a tribal settlement at Chambakkudi, also lost his life in a wild elephant attack in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in Idukki last week. He was with a group of people engaged in clearing a fireline when the elephant charged at him and killed him.