Ramesh Rai | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Two people, including a 21-year-old woman, died of wild elephant attack in Kadaba taluk of Dakshina Kannada district on the foothills of the Western Ghats on Monday morning.
Kadaba police gave the names of the deceased as Ranjitha and Ramesh Rai, 55, both residents of Naila-Renjiladi in Kadaba taluk. The woman, working with the milk cooperative society in Peradka was on her way to work when a wild elephant attacked her all of a sudden near Naila. Hearing her screams, Mr. Ramesh rushed to her help only to be attacked by the elephant in his stomach.
Both died on the spot. Kadaba police have registered a case of unnatural death.
Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner M.R. Ravi Kumar and Deputy Conservator of Forests Y.K. Dinesh Kumar visited the spot after angry residents demanded their arrival. The villagers were angry that the district administration and the Forest Department did nothing despite frequent crop damage incidents because of wild elephants and a few attacks on humans.
The DC promised to provide employment to Ranjitha’s sister on compassionate grounds while assuring compensation to her family. Mr. Kumar promised to take action immediately for containing the wild elephant menace in the region. He would stay back in the village and personally supervise the measures, he said.
A statement from Communist Party of India, Dakshina Kannada secretary B. Shekhar here expressed shock over the death of Mr. Rai, who had been its Kadaba taluk deputy secretary and Puttur Beedi Labour Union (AITUC) joint secretary and the death of Ms. Ranjitha. Mr. Rai had been a social worker and was fighting for the rights of workers and the deprived. Rushing to Ms. Ranjitha’s help demonstrated his helping nature. CPI demanded compensation of ₹40 lakh each for the victims’ families.
