Civil police officer injured in wild elephant attack in Kerala

"The CPO was kicked on the chest by the elephant after he slipped in the mud while forest officials were trying to drive away the tusker that had entered an inhabited area of Kodalipoyil in Pothukallu grama panchayat on Tuesday evening," said sources.

Malappuram (Kerala): A wild elephant attacked a Civil police officer (CPO) who was severely injured on Wednesday morning in the Nilambur area of Malappuram district of Kerala.

According to Forest department sources, "the CPO was kicked on the chest by the elephant after he slipped in the mud while forest officials were trying to drive away the tusker that had entered an inhabited area of Kodalipoyil in Pothukallu grama panchayat on Tuesday evening. The injured CPO, Sangeeth, was rushed to the Nilambur government hospital and later shifted to Kozhikode medical college hospital for better treatment."

The locals said wild elephants often cross over the Chaliyar river at Ambittampotti and enter in populated areas of Pothukallu, Santhipara, and Kodalipoyil areas due to which the villagers remain in constant fear. Due to this constant invasion of the wild animals, the forest department constituted a special squad to monitor the activities of the animals and drive them away which invade human settlements. The CPO Sangeeth was among a team of cops from Kozhikode AR camp who were deputed to the special forest squad in Pothukallu.