Wayanad: In a shocking elephant attack, a man was killed by a wild tusker in Kerala's Wayanad on Saturday morning, sources said. The victim has been identified as Padamala Panachiyil Aji, a 47-year-old local from Mananthavady. According to local sources, Aji was attacked by the tusker, which ventures into the residential area, in front of a friend's house on Saturday morning.
Sources said that the elephant attacked Aji by breaking the gate of the house and entering the courtyard. In the wild tusker attack, Aji died on the spot according to locals. The body has been kept at Mananthavady Medical College for further medico-legal formalities. The locals are gathering in the hospital premises with a strong protest against the forest guards.
It is believed that the attack was carried out by a radio-collared wild elephant from Karnataka. It is learnt that the Kerala Forest Department had confirmed that the wild tusker fitted with a radio collar by the Karnataka Forest officials had entered Wayanad two days ago. Agitated locals questioned if the Kerala Forest Department had confirmed the presence of the tusker, why steps were not taken to prevent the wild animal from entering the residential area so that it did not attack the locals.
The protesting locals demanded that strict action should be taken against the erring officials. A video of the elephant attack is also being widely shared on the Internet. In the few seconds odd video, the elephant is seen chasing the man wearing a dhoti after barging into the compound by breaking the iron fencing and trampling him to death.
The wild elephant attack comes days after another rogue tusker named Thanneer Komban was spotted by the locals at Mananthavady area of Wayanad. The tusker died after being tranquilized by the Forest Department officials with wildlife activists accusing the locals of torturing the elephant to death.
