Man killed in wild elephant attack at Aralam Farm in Kannur
After the post-mortem examination at the medical college, the body will be handed over to his relatives.
After the post-mortem examination at the medical college, the body will be handed over to his relatives.
After the post-mortem examination at the medical college, the body will be handed over to his relatives.
Kannur: A 40-year-old man was killed in a suspected elephant attack at Aralam Farm in Kannur in the early hours of Tuesday, in yet another incident of human-wildlife conflict in the state's largest tribal settlement. The deceased has been identified as Aneesh, son of Soman, a resident of Block 10 in Aralam.
Aneesh and his wife, Ambali, had previously worked at the Aralam farm. They depended on manual labour outside the estate. They have two children, a daughter studying in Class 12 and a son in Class 8.
The attack occurred around 4 am when Aneesh stepped out of his house, said Aralam panchayat president Shobha V. She was accompanying the body in the ambulance to Kannur Medical College at Pariyaram for autopsy. She said it was a lone elephant attack. "I don't think he was trampled. The elephant flung him to the ground," Shobha said. "He appears to have suffered a fracture to his shoulder, and his neck looks twisted. I could only take a quick look at him," she said. "He died on the spot."
The attack comes a day after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi visited Peravoor to meet farmers affected by wildlife incursions. At the meeting, Ranjini Ratheesh, a school student from Aralam Farm, recounted how she was attacked by an elephant while washing clothes in a river. She said the elephant struck her leg with its trunk and attempted to trample her when she fell in the river. According to her, officials later dismissed her injuries as having been sustained in a fall while fleeing and she did not receive compensation or follow-up treatment.
Elephants regularly graze in the human settlement area spread over 3,780 acres, which is surrounded by rivulets and the Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary. Residents said elephant attacks are regular and they don't step out of their house after sunset and before sunrise. They have lost at least 21 lives to elephant attacks.
In February and March last year alone, five such incidents were reported. On March 13, toddy tapper T K Prasad sustained broken ribs after being attacked by an elephant inside Aralam Farm. Earlier, on February 23, a 75-year-old woman, Leela, and her 80-year-old husband, Velli, were trampled to death in Block 13. The killing of the elderly couple had triggered massive protests in the farm, with residents accusing the government of failing to complete the 13-km elephant-proof wall first approved in 2016.