COIMBATORE: A 70-year-old tribal woman was reportedly trampled to death by a wild elephant at Mullankadu near Boluvampatti Forest Range on Thursday. Sources in the forest department said that the elderly woman – S Maruthammal from Sarkar Porathi tribal village – was found dead about 100 metres from Sarkar Porathi Bus Stop in the reserve forest of Boluvampatti Block II.
The forest staff found footprints of pachyderms near her body, which was sent to Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for postmortem examination. Later, the woman’s body was handed over to her relatives.
Boluvampatti Range officer Arokiyasamy told Express, “On Tuesday, Maruthammal left home after informing her daughter that she was going to collect the old-age pension. However, she did not return until night. So, the incident could have happened during the evening.
There are chances for the woman to be trampled to death by the elephant as her left leg was fractured.”
Arokiyasamy added that the department handed over an initial compensation of `50,000 to the deceased’s daughter Vijaya.
One injured
In another incident, a Matvarayapuram resident sustained grievous injuries in a wild pachyderm attack at Kodungkarai Pallam near Periyanaickenpalayam forest range on Thursday. According to sources, the victim — C Sakthivel Angel Garden — encountered the animal around 7 am. Sakthivel sustained grievous injuries on his leg, chest and hip as he was reportedly pushed down by the elephant. He is being treatment at Kottathurai tribal hospital in Kerala.