3 forest staff, 2 cops hurt in jumbo attack incidents

In the first incident, two police constables and an APW were injured at Mullukadu area near Korapathi tribal settlement near Pillur. They were part of the NSD to check movement of Maoists. Around 1.45 pm, a team of 12 member led by Sub Inspector MS Madasamy was engaged in combing operations in the thick forest. APWs Mani and Dinesh were guiding the team through the forest. 

An NSD officer told DTNext, that an adult tusker that was hiding in thorny bushes started chasing them unexpectedly. Constable Udhayakumar who was chased by the elephant fell. When he opened fire using his AK47, the elephant spared him and chased Mani who fell facedown. “The elephant attacked him with its tusks but Mani’s backpack saved him from a direct impact,” the officer said. Another constable Sivanandhan also suffered minor injuries in the incident. 

This incident left the NSD teams shocked as this was the first time they were attacked by a jumbo in the wild. However, the Inspector General of Police (IG) for West Zone A, Pari appreciated the team for returning safely without causing any harm to the tusker.

The same night APWs M Karthikeyan (32) and R. Vijayakumar (48) were injured when they were driving a lone tusker back to the forest in Madukkarai Range. A tusker aged between 20 and 25 years came out of the reserve forest and crossed the busy Palakkad-Coimbatore national Highway, affecting traffic for some time. 

As usual the APWs burst crackers to chase away the elephant, but it charged at Karthikeyan. He suffered multiple fractures as the jumbo’s tusk pierced his right shoulder and rib. APW Vijayakumar was also attacked by the wild elephant before it left. Karthikeyan who underwent multiple surgeries after the attack, is out of danger now, said the officials.