Tribal couple trampled to death by wild elephant; Protests with dead bodies continuing late into night; hartal declared

IRITTY (KANNUR): Protests continue even late into the night over the incident of the tribal couple who went to collect cashew nuts in the Aralam Farm tribal rehabilitation area being trampled to death by a wild elephant.

Velli (80) and his wife Leela (75), who came from Ambalakandi Nagar and live in plot 1542, were killed. The locals did not agree to shift the body. The locals are demanding that the District Collector and Forest Minister should visit the spot in person.

MLA Sunny Joseph spoke to the Forest Minister and assured the locals that necessary precautions would be taken, but the protesters did not give in.

The incident took place in Velli's relative's field adjacent to the Karikkanmukku Anganwadi road. The wild elephant, which was standing behind an empty house, attacked them while they were returning with a bundle of firewood after collecting cashew nuts. The news came to light around 6 pm on Sunday. The body was found when the daughter's husband and relatives went looking for them after the couple did not return home. Forest Department officials arrived and were about to shift the body. The people did not yield to the persuasion efforts of the police led by Aralam SHO Andric Dominic.

The UDF has declared a hartal in Aralam panchayat tomorrow in protest against the wild elephant attack. Minister A.K. Saseendran announced that an all-party meeting will be held in Kannur tomorrow at 3 pm in the wake of the incident.

14 people, including Velli and Leela, have lost their lives on the Aralam farm in the past 10 years due to wild elephant attacks.
Children of the deceased couple: Lakshmi, Sreedharan, Venu, Chali. Daughters-in-law: Kunjikannan, Chandri, Narayani, Mini.