VIDEO: Wild Elephant Tramples Man to Death in Kerala’s Wayanad, Curfew Imposed

Mananthavady, Kerala: Chaos prevailed in Kerala’s Padamala near Wayanad’s Mananthavady on Saturday morning when a radio-collared wild elephant on the run chased and crushed a man to death in front of a house after the tusker entered a human settlement. The deceased has been identified as Panachiyil Aji, 42, a native of Payyampalli. 

The incident took place around 6 am on Saturday morning. Aji died at Mananthavady Medical College where he was admitted following the attack.

A CCTV footage of the tragic incident shows how the wild elephant fitted with a radio collar damaged the compound wall of a house and attacked the man who was trying to escape by entering a residential compound. While the homeowner opened a gate for the man to escape, the elephant barged through and trampled the man to death and ran back into the forested area. 

While locals have demanded to meet the district collector over the matter, the issue has led to a faceoff between the forest departments of Karnataka and Kerala. 

The public has demanded the district collector to come in person and talk with them.

The issue is turning out to be a fight between Karnataka and Kerala Forest department. The elephant was reportedly radio collared by Karnataka Forest Department. Now, Kerala Forest Department officials have claimed that they did not receive any receive any information about the elephant’s presence in Kerala’s soil inhabited by human population.

Curfew imposed in Mananthawadi after public raises protest over the incident as the forest dept didn't give any warning of the presence of the elephant.

Meanwhile, angry locals staged a flash protest by blocking the Mananthavady-Mysore, Mananthavady-Kozhikode and Thalassery roads.

A curfew was imposed in Mananthavady after locals staged a protest, alleging that the forest department didn't issue any warning regarding the presence of the elephant in the area.

Kerala Forest Minister AK Saseendran termed the death of the man as 'shocking' and said the frequent news of man-animal conflict was a matter of concern.