PATHANAMTHITTA: A 52-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant attack at Thulapally near Pampa in Pathanamthitta in the early morning of Monday.
Malayil Biju, an auto-rickshaw driver, and a native of Pulikunnathumala, had come out of his house along with his wife Daisy around 1 am after wild elephants entered his farm near their house.
Fearing destruction of his farm, the couple went to the spot with headlights. Though they returned home, Biju went to the spot again seeing the destruction caused to his farm.
This time, the wild elephant chased him. Biju, who fell on the ground while running, was trampled to death by the wild elephant. The incident happened around 50 meters away from their house, police said.
Daisy told reporters that she accompanied Biju to chase away the wild elephants, which were straying into their property. "One elephant chased my husband after seeing the light. Biju could not run to escape due to the trees in the compound,” she said.
Relatives informed the police and forest station at Kanamala.
Meanwhile, the death of yet another person due to wild animal attack in the district has forced the local residents to protest against the forest officials, who they said are not doing anything to prevent the recurring elephant attacks. They also prevented the police from shifting Biju's body from the accident spot.
Later district collector Prem Krishna assured to allot the first installment of relief to the family and informed the state government to recommend a job for Biju's son. Following the assurance, the protesters allowed the police to shift the body to Ranni Taluk Hospital, police said.