COIMBATORE: A 56-year-old woman was injured after she was attacked by a wild elephant inside the CRPF Central Training College campus in Kathirnacikenpalayam in Coimbatore on Wednesday evening. The victim, identified as M Rathiga, is the personal secretary to the Inspector General of the Central Training College.
According to forest department sources, Rathiga was walking inside the campus at 6.45 pm with another woman, when an elephant, which had entered the campus through a damaged portion of the compound wall, pushed her away. She suffered head injury while the other woman escaped without injuries. She was admitted in the CRPF hospital and then was shifted to a private hospital in Thudiyalur.
Forest Range Officer of Periyanacikenpalayam S Selvaraj said, “On information, our team visited the spot and drove the animal into Kathirnaickenpalayam forest. Rathiga is stable and will be discharged on Thursday night.” Meanwhile, a special team attached to the Madukkarai forest range is monitoring Nallur Vayal after a four-year-old cow was allegedly killed by a leopard.
The cow’s owner K Rangasamy alleged that it was killed while it was grazing in a patta land near Nallur Vayal, which is near the reserve forest. “Though there are some scratches on the cow’s body, we are yet to confirm if they are the marks of the leopard. We have asked for the autopsy report from the veterinarian and will send a letter to the District Forest Officer to compensate for the cow’s death once the killer animal is confirmed,” a forest department official said.
The official further said that land owners have not fenced their lands due to which wild animal attacks happen frequently. Meanwhile, forest department staff rescued a spotted deer that was attacked by stray dogs in Sirumugai and released it inside the Kandhayar forest after giving first aid.