KALPETTA: A 65-year-old tribal man, who went missing four days ago, was found dead in the Kolur forest area in Noolpuzha near Sultan Bathery on Saturday morning. The deceased is Cheluvan of Kadambakkad Kattunayakan tribal colony. The Sultan Bathery police and forest officials suspect he died in a wild elephant attack.
Cheluvan went missing while on his way to his daughter’s house at Ponkuzhi on April 7. Though the tribesmen searched for him, they couldn’t find him. Finally, his body was found in Kolur forest by local residents on Saturday.“While on the way to his daughter’s house at Ponkuzhi, Cheluvan took a shortcut via Kolur forest to reach there. His body was found within a 25-minute walking distance from his home. There were injuries from elephant attack on his body. He was a temporary watcher with the forest department. His son is now working there,”said Kanakaraj K N, tribal promoter-in-charge, Kadambakkad colony. The body has been shifted to Sultan Bathery Taluk Hospital for postmortem examination.
Last week, a woman was killed in a wild elephant attack in Wayanad. Nadavayal native Gangadevi Vellilattu, 47, who went to collect woods in the forest was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chethayalam forest area on April 2.
Though Gangadevi was rushed to a private hospital in Kalpetta, her life could not be saved. Following her death, enraged local residents blocked roads in several parts of the town and met forest officials seeking immediate compensation for her family. Forest officials promised to give `5 lakh to the family.