MYSURU: Nagarhole Tiger Reserve Director S Manikandan (45) was killed by an elephant at Kaneguddikere in DB Kuppe forest range, Kabini backwaters, on Saturday. The tragedy occurred when he was on his way to assess the damage caused by a fire on Friday.Manikandan, a senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, was in the area to record the exact location of the fire using GPS. He was accompanied by three range forest officers (RFOs) and other staff.
After getting down from the jeep, they had walked for a while along the fire line to reach the location, when the elephant — which was hiding inside a bush — attacked Manikandan. Though RFO Sanjay and a few other staffers sighted the elephant and alerted Manikandan and others, it was too late. The jumbo disappeared into the forest after attacking Manikandan. RFO Subramanayan, who was standing near Manikandan, had a narrow escape while RFO Muthuraj hid behind a tree. They were not carrying weapons. The staff shifted Manikandan, who was bleeding, to HD Kote hospital in a jeep where he was declared brought dead.
Recalling the incident, RFO Muthuraj said that it was all over in a matter of few seconds. He said on seeing the elephant advancing, the staff alerted Manikandan, who was not in uniform, but was wearing a light-coloured shirt. While he was running to safety, Manikandan tripped and fell to the ground. The elephant then trampled on him, lifted him by the trunk and threw him before disappearing into the forest.
The staff found Manikandan bleeding and he was breathless. They sprinkled some water on him. However, after he failed to respond, they shifted him to the hospital.
As the news of Manikandan’s death spread, forest personnel and members of the public thronged the HD Kote hospital. A host of relatives and friends from his native Theni in Tamil Nadu also reached the hospital.His body was shifted from the mortuary to Aranya Bhavan at 6.15 pm where it was kept for public viewing.Deputy Commissioner D Randeep said Manikandan’s body will be taken back to KR Hospital from Aranya Bhavan for postmortem and it will be handed over to his family members later.