Locals protest in Kerala after a 40-year-old trampled to death by a wild elephant

Forest officials have started digging trenches and installing solar fences around the areas.

On Monday night, in a tragic incident in Kerala, a wild elephant trampled a 40-year-old man to death near Kothamangalam in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, triggering protests by locals who demanded permanent solutions to end the human-animal conflict in the area.

40-year-old man trampled to death by a wild elephant in Kerala.

The 40-year-old man was identified as Eldhose Kodiyatt, a native of Knachary in Kuttampuzha panchayat, which is an area close to deep forests, part of the Kothamangalam forest division and home to elephants and other wild animals. As per the police and the locals, Kodiyatt, a casual worker, was walking towards his home after deboarding a bus at Urulanthanni when the wild elephant attacked him reportedly without provocation on Monday around 9 pm. Locals also revealed that the 1 km stretch from the bus stop to Kodiyatt’s home had streetlights, but they weren’t working on Monday. His mutilated remains were found by a passerby, who informed the forest and police officials.

Locals protest for hours after the incident.

Irate locals protested for hours and refused to hand over the remains for autopsy. They were forced to disperse after district collector NSK Umesh reached the spot and assured them of timely compensation to the victim’s family and immediate solutions to safeguard their lives. On Monday, the district administration handed over a compensation of ₹10 lakh to Kodiyatt’s family, consisting of his elderly parents and a sister.

Forest officials, following Forest Minister AK Saseendran’s instructions, have begun digging trenches and installing solar fences around the areas separating the panchayat from the reserve forest.