50-year-old Man Trampled to Death by Wild Elephant in Kerala

An official said that the man awakened in sleep by the sound of an elephant destroying his agricultural field near his compound. As he started to deter the wild elephant, the latter trampled him to death as per the official. The incident triggered a protest by the locals, who accused the Forest officials

Pathanamthitta: In a tragic incident, a 50-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant while trying to hound it when the violent animal trespassed into his house premises in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala in the wee hours of Monday April 1, an official said. The deceased has been identified as Pulikkunnathu Malayil Biju. The tragic incident happened at 1 am on Monday.

Biju, an auto driver by profession, awoke in sleep when he heard the sound of an elephant destroying his agricultural field near his compound. An official said that Biju started to deter the wild elephant, but he couldn't stop it, unleashing an attack on him. The animal trampled him to death and his body was found 50 meters away from his home, the official said. Biju is survived by his wife Daisy and sons Jinson and Biju.

The official said that soon after receiving the information police and forest department officials reached the spot to take stock of the situation. Meanwhile, locals in the area started protesting over the incident alleging the negligence of forest officials by holding the body at the spot itself. Considering the growing protest, District collector A Shibu reached the site and assured that he would initiate actions to ensure compensation to Biju's family.

Following assurance by the District Collector, locals allowed the body to be removed from the place.

The incident comes four days after a wild elephant killed a tribal woman in a similar manner while her husband was injured in the incident on the Wayanad-Malappuram border in Kerala.