Man found dead in suspected wild elephant attack in Idukki

A 55-year-old tribal man was found dead in an Ecologically Fragile Land (EFL) area under the Kanthalloor forest range of the Marayoor Sandal Division in Idukki.

According to the police, Murukan, a resident of the Churakkulam tribal settlement, was found dead near a rock within the Pampanpara and Churakkulam forest area at around 3 p.m. on Thursday. Local residents alleged that Murukan was killed in a wild elephant attack, pointing to injuries found on his body. They said wild elephants had recently been spotted in the area. Following the incident, residents staged a protest in Marayoor, carrying the man’s body to demand action.

Meanwhile, Marayoor Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) P.J. Suhaib stated that the exact cause of death will only be confirmed after a postmortem examination.

“There was no presence of wild elephants in the area, and forest watchers had conducted a patrol where the body was found on Thursday. The forest department has already chased the wild elephants away from the Churakkulam and Pampanpara areas,” Mr. Suhaib said.