PALAKKAD: It’s been one year since forest watcher P Rajan went missing from the forests of Silent Valley on May 3, 2022. But neither the forest department nor investigating agencies have been able to find him or even unearth what happened to him.
Rajan went missing around 8.30 pm while proceeding from the mess to his room a few metres away in Silent Valley’s Sairindhri. His colleagues recovered his ‘mundu’, a pair of slippers and torch from the spot the next day. His mobile phone was found from the forest the day after. But Rajan was nowhere to be found. Analysis of footage from the camera traps installed in the forests also did not provide any clue to his whereabouts.
Though there are several wild animals in the area, the search team did not find signs of a scuffle or any evidence of a stand-off, said a forest official who took part in the search.
Rajan went missing while arrangements were being made for the marriage of his youngest daughter Rekha Raj, scheduled a month later. Many feel that if Rajan was alive, he would have definitely attended the function, which was held on the scheduled date.
N Muralidharan, DySP of Agali police station in Attappadi, told TNIE that they had searched several temples after being informed that a person resembling Rajan was spotted there. “We went to Banari Amman temple in Ooty twice after a resident who had seen news about Rajan’s missing, called us saying a man resembling him had enquired about the climate in Attappadi. On both occasions, it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity,” he said.
The police even searched for Rajan at Ooredam village, the farthest point within the Agali police station limits, but to no avail. Once home to many residents, the place has just one family now, that of Lenkiamma. The others, including Lenkiamma’s brothers, moved out after wild tuskers started straying into the village.
“Earlier, people used to walk 3km to Elachivazhi and Chavadiyoor to buy ration. For the past three years, no one dares to take the path fearing the elephants. If anyone gets attacked by the jumbos here, it would be difficult to get information about it as there are not many human habitations,” Muralidharan said, indicating that there was no way to know whether Rajan took this path, which leads to Tamil Nadu, or whether he was attacked by wild jumbos.