Wild elephant tramples man to death in Wayanad

A dawn-to-dusk hartal has been called in Wayanad on Wednesday (February 12, 2025) in protest against the death of a 45-year-old man who was trampled by a wild elephant at Noolpuzha bordering Tamil Nadu on the night of February 10.

The hartal call was given by the Farmers Relief Forum and the Kerala unit of the All-India Trinamool Congress. Functionaries of the forum, however, said that there would not be any forceful closure of shops or blocking of vehicles and urged the people to cooperate with the protest.

According to sources, the deceased is Manu, a resident of Vellari Colony in Tamil Nadu, who belongs to the Scheduled Tribes community. He and his family had come to visit their relatives staying across the border at Kappad Colony at Noolpuzha in Wayanad. They usually stayed at the relatives’ place for a few days on such occasions. Manu was reportedly attacked near a paddy field while he was returning to Kappad after purchasing groceries from a shop. His body was found on February 11 morning during a search. Though his wife, Chandrika, was initially reported missing, she was found later.