Pregnant tribal woman, husband missing, search intensifies in Nilambur forest

Kalpetta: A pregnant tribal woman and her husband from the Paniya community who has been missing for the past two days is yet to be located, putting the Wayanad district administration on high alert.

A joint team comprising the police, fire and rescue services, forest officials, and volunteers from the Scheduled Tribe Development Department launched a search operation on Wednesday in the deep forest regions bordering Wayanad and Malappuram districts in the Nilambur forest area.

The missing woman, Lakshmi (Santha), wife of Krishnan of the Erattukund tribal settlement in the 10th ward of Meppadi panchayat at Attamala near Mundakkai—where last year's devastating landslide originated—was reportedly in her eighth month of pregnancy. Sources said she is believed to have delivered a child in the forest, though the condition of the baby remains unknown.

The Erattukund settlement, home to fewer than 20 members across six families belonging to the Paniya tribe, includes residents who still live in caves and tree huts. Every year, during natural calamities such as landslides and heavy rains, the forest department conducts expeditions to locate the families and move them to relief camps.

According to sources, the woman left for the jungle along with her husband when the tribal department and health workers began preparations to admit her to a hospital for delivery.

“Labour pain had begun, and when we reached the tribal settlement with health workers, she was already missing,” said a health worker who requested anonymity.

In September, tribal department officials and health workers had taken her to the Government Taluk Hospital in Vythiri, but she later returned to the settlement. When reports surfaced that labour had started, health workers rushed back, only to find that she had disappeared.

Following a request from the tribal department, the joint team launched a search on Wednesday but was unable to locate the woman or her husband. The forest department has also deployed drones, but the mission has not yielded results.

South Wayanad Divisional Forest Officer Ajith K Raman told Onmanorama that the department is extending all necessary support.

 “As per information received through our tribal network, the woman delivered a baby somewhere in the jungle. So far, we have no access to the spot and we have been unable to identify the location,” he said.

Former panchayat president K Babu, who represented the Mundakkai ward, said the couple might have fled into the jungle out of fear of medical treatment and hospitalisation.

 “We have tried to rehabilitate them elsewhere, but they are not interested in socialising or relocating from their habitat. During torrential rains, when they heard the sound of our jeep, all members of the settlement would run into the jungle,” he said.

He added that officials often leave food for the families at temporary sheds inside the forest.