Last Updated: February 10, 2024, 11:20 IST
The elephant breaks the gate of a house and chases a man in Kerala’s Wayanad. (Screengrab)
Kerala forest minister AK Saseendran has directed the police and district administrations to take necessary action to tranquilise the elephant
A radio-collared wild elephant broke the gate and entered the premises of a house in Kerala’s Wayanad before chasing a 42-year-old man and attacking him to death on Saturday morning.
The incident has triggered protests in the Mananthavady region of Wayanad and the district administration has issued prohibitory orders for some areas.
The deceased man has been identified as Padamala Panachiyil Aji, a resident of the Mananthavady region.
The entire incident was caught on surveillance cameras. In one of the clips, the elephant can be seen running towards a house, creating panic in the area. The elephant then breaks the gate and the fence of the house, chases a man and tramples him to death inside the premises of the house.
Kerala forest minister AK Saseendran said the victim was attacked after a wild elephant ventured into a residential area.
The Minister directed the Wayanad district collector and police chief to discuss with the local body representatives and to take necessary action to tranquillise the tusker.
Meanwhile, the Kerala forest department has said a tusker with a radio collar fitted by the Karnataka forest department was seen in the Wayanad forest area two days before the incident.
Locals have alleged that even though the forest department confirmed the presence of the elephant two days ago, they did not take any action to prevent it from entering the residential areas.
Earlier, the rogue tusker Thanneer Komban another elephant with a radio collar was seen at Mananthavadi of Wayanad last week. After much effort, the tusker was tranquilised and captured but later on, it died.
