Jumbo kills tribeswoman in forest near Wayanad border

KOZHIKODE: A tribeswoman was trampled to death and her husband seriously injured in a wild elephant attack inside the forest along the Wayanad- Malappuram border.
The deceased woman has been identified as Mini, 35, of Parappanpara tribal settlement deep inside forests in Muppainad grama panchayat. This is the fourth casualty due to wild elephant attack in Wayanad this year.
Police said Mini and her husband Suresh, along with their three children, had gone from the tribal colony at Kadassery to their shed on the banks of Chaliyar on Wednesday evening and the attack happened when the couple ventured to the forests.
"The incident happened around 200m away from the shed where they were living. As per the statement, the attack happened on Wednesday evening and the woman died on Thursday morning. We received information about the incident at 9am on Thursday," said Mepaddi SHO Siju B K.
The couple belong to the Cholanayikka tribal community. It was Rajan, Suresh's brother who found the couple inside the forest on Thursday. "When we went to the spot the elephants were still in the vicinity. The couple apparently ran on seeing the elephant and Mini fell on the ground following which the animal trampled her to death," one of the residents said.
Forest officials from Vaniyampara forest station in Malappuram and Pothukallu police along with volunteers also arrived at the spot and took the injured Suresh to the Nilambur district hospital.
As the area where the elephant attack took place is located in the interior forests it took hours to carry Suresh by foot outside the forests to Munderi on the Nilambur side. According to sources he has sustained a fracture in the right leg apart from other injuries and has been shifted to the Kozhikode government medical college hospital.
Vaniyampuzha ward member Yashoda Chandran said the Parappanpara tribal colony is 4km inside the forests and has nine houses.