Fourth person dies in wild elephant attack in a month

Kochi: A wild elephant killed a 46-year-old auto-rickshaw driver in Munnar in Kerala’s Idukki district. This incident happened late on Monday night. This is the fourth death in a wild elephant attack in a month. The other three deaths occurred in Wayanad district. Eyewitnesses said that at around 10 pm on Monday night, Sureshkumar alias Mani was returning with his family after attending the annual function at a local school. When the vehicle reached Kannimala, a wild elephant attacked the three-wheeler. The elephant hit the vehicle and knocked Mani down.
Mani suffered serious head injuries and died, while three members of the family were injured when the vehicle overturned. He has been admitted to a local hospital in Munnar. A Raja, CPI(M) MLA in Devikulam (Munnar), said, “The sad fact is that all four deaths in elephant attacks did not occur in the forests. We hope that the forest and district authorities in Munnar will take measures to avoid this “People are worried.” Major political parties have called for a local bandh in protest against this incident.