A youth from Hassan was allegedly killed when an elephant attacked him at Moonglipade on the Bisle Ghat on the border with Hassan district on Friday.
According to police and Forest Department officials, Ganesh (27) from Samurdavalli village, near Hassan, was riding pillion on a motorcycle on the Kukke Subrahmanya-Kulkunda-Bisle Ghat road when the incident took place between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. The rider, Sunil Kumar T.N., in his 30s, from Hanumanthapura village, near Goruru in Hassan district, who was injured was admitted to a private hospital in Puttur. He is out of danger, the officials said.
The duo were on their way from Kulkunda towards the Hassan border. Officials said that they spotted the elephant on the narrow road while negotiating a curve. A frightened Kumar lost balance and the motorcycle fell on the road. Immediately Ganesh started running and the elephant attacked him and he died.
K.T. Hanumanthappa, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Dakshina Kannada, who visited the spot told The Hindu that the motorbike might have hit the elephant while negotiating the curve. He said that the Forest Department would give compensation to the family of the deceased after ascertaining the details. The hospital expense of the injured would be borne by the department once the bills were submitted.
Kukke Subrahmanya police have registered a case of unnatural death.
