A 66-year-old tribal man was killed by a herd of wild elephants that were camped in Chinnala Kombai near Coonoor on Sunday night.
Forest Department officials identified the deceased as Mari Chellan, a resident of Chinnala Kombai, and a daily wage worker. He was reportedly walking home late Sunday night when the elephants, which had been spotted at Thuthurmattam earlier, crossed his path and attacked him.
Local residents alleged that the elephants had been driven towards Pillur Mattam and into Chinnala Kombai by the Forest Department using fire-crackers. One of the residents, who confronted Forest Department staff when they went to retrieve the body, said that locals had been urging the department to not use fire-crackers to drive the animals back into forests.
“We have lived for many generations alongside elephants, and know how to co-exist peacefully with the animals. We have noticed that elephants get extremely aggressive when they are chased into forests by humans, and we believe that they become more aggressive when they are disturbed,” said Shanthammal, a resident of Chinnala Kombai.
The hamlets of Chinnala Kombai, Sadayan Kombai and Anaipallam, which are inaccessible by road, are more than four km from the nearest settlement that are accessible by motorised transport. Locals said that the body of Mari Chellan could not be retrieved till Monday afternoon as the elephants were close by, and vehicles could not be brought in.
As a result, the residents had to use a home-made stretcher made of bamboo and cloth to carry the body to an area from where the it could be taken for post-mortem.
Forest Department officials said a compensation would be paid to the deceased’s wife, M Sarasu.
