Elderly Man Killed in Elephant Attack, Locals Block Road

IDUKKI: A person was killed in the wild elephant attack in the wee hours of Sunday in Marayur here.

Habeebulla, 60, better known as ‘bhai’ among local inhabitants, and his wife were sleeping inside the shop he has been running for the past five years opposite the petrol bunk, when he heard the sound of wild elephants around 3 am. When Habeebulla came out of his shop to shoo away the elephants, which were eating up jackfruits from nearby shops, they attacked him.

Hearing his wife’s wails, local residents rushed to the spot and took him to a nearby private hospital, where he was referred to another hospital in Udumalpeta in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Though Habeebulla was taken there, he succumbed to his injuries around 5 am.

Tension in Marayur

Tension erupted in Marayur on Sunday over the incident, with inhabitants seizing the Marayur-Udumalpeta inter-state road for hours in protest against ‘inaction’ by the authorities in protecting them from the attacks of wild animals.

When police asked the protestors to disperse, they stood firm seeking the District Collector’s personal intervention. 

On word by the MLA that a meeting in this regard would be called in presence of High Range Circle Chief Conservator of Forest within 10 days, and the promise of the Forest Department officials that more watchers would deployed in the forest bordering areas, they agreed to disband by around 2 pm.