Kannur: A 50-year-old toddy tapper was found critically injured with broken ribs and in a semi-conscious state in Aralam Farm on Thursday, said Aralam Grama Panchayat president K P Rajesh. The toddy tapper, identified as T K Prasad, was likely attacked by an elephant, said the CPM leader.

Prasad is the fifth victim of elephant attacks inside Aralam Farm since February 23, when 75-year-old Leela and her 80-year-old husband Velli were trampled to death in Block 13. Since 2012, 16 lives have been snuffed out by elephants in Aralam Farm, a tribal rehabilitation village on the fringe of Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary.

Prasad is battling for his life at Aster MIMS in Kannur. "He was brought in at 8.30 am with broken ribs and breathing difficulties, so we have put him on a ventilator," said the duty manager at MIMS. Doctors found that the broken ribs had pierced his lungs, his jaws were dislocated, and his teeth were broken, said Iritty Block Panchayat president K Velayudhan, who visited Pradeep at the hospital. The Congress leader said Pradeep was not in a position to explain what happened, but from his injuries, it is clear the elephant either flung him or trampled on him.

Shobha V, Iritty Block Panchayat member representing Aralam division, said Prasad is a resident of Ambalakandy in Chedikkulam ward, outside Aralam Farm. He had left home Wednesday evening to tap coconut trees in Block 3 of the farm but never returned. "People launched a search but couldn't find him," she said.

Around 6 am on Thursday, fellow toddy tappers found Prasad groaning in pain. They immediately arranged for his transport to the hospital, Shobha said.

After the elderly couple’s killing in February, Aralam Farm erupted in protest. Residents held the government accountable for failing to complete the 13-km elephant-proof wall first approved in 2016.

They refused to bury the couple until Forest Minister A K Saseendran visited the farm and assured them the government would expedite construction. The minister promised that work on the wall would begin and also said solar fences would be installed first as a temporary safeguard. He also vowed to push the elephants back into the forest.

But a week later, on March 1, another elephant charged at Puthusseri Ambili and her husband Shyju, injuring them and wrecking their scooter. The couple were on their way to work when they were attacked at Kottappara. They narrowly escaped with injuries and were treated at the Peravoor Taluk Hospital.

Outraged, residents launched a day-and-night protest, setting up a tent in front of the Forest Department’s Rapid Response Team (RRT) office in Block 13. They held placards demanding protection of their lives and assets, and securing the perimeter of the farm spread across 3,500 acres.

Braving the weather — and the elephants — residents, regardless of political affiliation, spent three sleepless nights in protest.

With neither officials nor ministers coming to speak to them, they escalated their agitation. On March 4, the protesters marched 8 km to the office of the Tribal Rehabilitation Development Mission (TRDM) at Odanthode — the agency responsible for the welfare and safety of the farm’s tribespeople. They demanded that the Kannur Collector Arun K Vijayan address them at the TRDM office. But no one from the government showed up.

Peravoor’s Congress MLA Sunny Joseph eventually stepped in, assuring protesters that the dense undergrowth — where elephants hide during the day — would be cleared and that work on the solar fencing and elephant-proof wall would begin immediately.

"We called off our protest that day. But today, I wanted to check the progress of the work on the ground," said Shobha. "But now, unlike before, the elephants charge at us as soon as they hear the sound of vehicles."