Protest at funeral of youth killed by elephant

The funeral of Amar Ilahi, 23, a resident of Amayalthotty, near Mullaringadu, Idukki, who was trampled to death by a wild elephant on Sunday, was held at the Mullaringadu Muhiyudheen Juma Masjid on Monday. Amar was attacked by a wild elephant around 3.30 p.m. while he and his friend had gone to bring back his cow, which was left to graze in a nearby teak plantation. His friend Mansor, 41, fled and narrowly escaped with injuries.

The funeral of Amar Ilahi, 23, a resident of Amayalthotty, near Mullaringadu, Idukki, who was trampled to death by a wild elephant on Sunday, was held at the Mullaringadu Muhiyudheen Juma Masjid on Monday. Amar was attacked by a wild elephant around 3.30 p.m. while he and his friend had gone to bring back his cow, which was left to graze in a nearby teak plantation. His friend Mansor, 41, fled and narrowly escaped with injuries.

Amar is the seventh victim of elephant attack in the past 12 months in Idukki. The United Democratic Front (UDF), Left Democratic Front (LDF), and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) observed a hartal at Vannappuram panchayat from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday. A Joint Action Council, led by Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose and Kothamangalam MLA Antony John, staged a protest march at the Chullilkkandam forest section office on Monday.

Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine visited Amar’s house at Mullaringadu on Monday. He announced immediate implementation of measures to curb the escalating wild elephant attacks in the area.

Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran said the government would provide ₹10 lakh as compensation to Amar’s family. Jomin J. Aranjani, range forest officer for Mullaringadu, said the government had already handed over ₹4 lakh to the family. “The compensation was allotted by the Idukki Collector from the District Disaster Management Authority fund,” said Mr. Aranjani.

“For the past month, Forest department officials have been camping in the area to prevent wild elephant entry to human habitations. The department has already deployed a Rapid Response Team (RRT) to monitor the movements of wild elephants,” said Mr. Aranjani. According to forest officials, the wild elephant attacked Amar inside a reserve forest area under the Mullaringadu forest range.

The State Minority Commission has registered a suo motu case in connection with the incident. A.A. Rasheed, commission chairperson, has sought a detailed report within 15 days. The commission has issued notice to the Principal Chief Forest Conservator, Divisional Forest Conservator, District Collector, and District Police Chief.

This year, wild elephant attacks had claimed the lives of woman plantation worker Parimalam, 48, on January 8 at Panniyar, near Santhanpara; K. Palraj, 79, at Thenmala, near Gundumala, on January 22; BL Ram resident Soundrajan at Chinnakkanal on January 26; autorickshaw driver Suresh Kumar near Kannimala Top under Kannan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP) on February 26; Indira Ramakrishnan, 70, a resident of Kanjiraveli, near Adimaly, on March 4; and Kannan at Chinnakkanal on July 21.