Tea estate labourer killed in jumbo attack

The deceased was identified as Rajendran from Kannampalli near Cherampadi. According to the Forest department, he had gone to pluck tea leaves in a private estate in the same neighbourhood when the incident occurred.

“Around 8 am, an elephant emerged from the bushes and charged towards Rajendran. He immediately took to his heels; however, the jumbo chased him down. It caught him by its trunk and flung him to the ground. Then, it trampled him to death. He died on the spot,” said a Forest department staff.

On receiving information, Pandalur Tahsildar Gopalakrishnan, police inspector Vetrivel Rajan, and other staff from the Revenue and Forest departments visited the spot and held enquiries. Though the elephant had retreated into the forests, the Forest department has been maintaining a watch.

A post-mortem was performed on the body of the deceased at Gudalur Government Hospital and then it was handed over to his family. Rajendran is survived by his wife Anitha, a son and a daughter.

The Cherampadi police have registered a case in this connection.