Abdul Khader (37), of Sugunapuram near Madukkarai, was found dead with injuries on the body and clothes torn close to the forest area, near his house on Thursday.
It is learnt that Abdul Khader ventured out last night with his friends and never returned home. When the family and friends launched a search, they found him lying dead near Manjapallam Odai. The victim is survived by his wife and three children.
The suspicion is that the victim should have been trampled to death by a lone tusker that had been frequenting the area from the nearby forest.
However, going by the nature of injuries observed during the clinical examination, the suspicion is also that he might have been beaten to death.
The body was removed to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. Officials said that vigil to monitor the lone tusker has been stepped up and only the post-mortem report could spell out the exact reasons of death.
