A 37-year-old worker, identified as Binish Mathew from Idukki, was killed reportedly in a leopard attack at the rubber plantation of the Kerala State Plantation Corporation at Manpilavu, near Thannithode, in Konni taluk on Thursday.
The police said Binish was tapping latex at the rubber plantation around noon when he was attacked. His fellow workers told the police that a leopard had swooped down on Binish who was standing on a ladder, bit him on the neck, before pulling him towards the bushes around I00 metres away. Binish had succumbed to the deep wounds by the time the other workers chased away the animal, the police said. The body was sent to Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam, for post-mortem examination. He had deep wounds on his neck and beneath the left ear, the police said.
K.U. Janeeshkumar, MLA; P.B. Noohu, District Collector; and senior Forest officials visited the spot.