Wild elephant tramples man to death

Udhagamandalam: A wild elephant trampled a 25-year-old man to death in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Saturday night.
Vijayan of Bennai village was on his way home around 8.15pm when the elephant attacked him, MTR core zone deputy director Shenbagapriya said. “His family is one of the 24 families out of the 235 in Bennai village yet to be relocated. Vijayan’s father is a beneficiary of the relocation programme. As construction of green houses as part of the relocation package is still under way, the families are staying in Bennai village as of now. Vijayan was staying with his father,” the official said.
The body was sent to the Gudalur GH for postmortem and was later handed over to the family. “Rs 50,000 was given to the family as initial compensation. The rest of the compensation amount will be disbursed after the formalities,” Shenbagapriya added.
In another incident, Vasanthakumar, a resident of O’Valley, was injured in an elephant attack in Masinagudi range of forests on Saturday night. “He was passing through the Bokkapuram Road when the animal chased him. We are not sure whether he fell down and injured himself or the animal attacked him,” MTR buffer zone deputy director Srikanth said. “He is undergoing treatment in the Ooty Government Hospital.”
The forest department has restricted entry on the Bokkapuram Road during night hours. A team of forest staff has been deployed in the area.