A 37-year-old tribal man lost his life after being trampled by a wild elephant while walking through a dense forest near Nilambur, police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred at the Poochappara settlement in the Karulai forest range when Mani, a member of the Cholanaikkan community, and a group of others were returning to their hamlet after dropping his children at a tribal hostel.

Despite the sudden elephant attack, the others in the group, including two elders, three youth aged 18–19, and Mani's five-year-old child, managed to escape unhurt, according to locals.

Vinod, a resident, recalled how Mani's child had a miraculous escape.

"The child, who was in Mani's arms, fell to the ground during the attack and was rescued by others," he told reporters.

The attack occurred at around 6.45 pm.

Reaching the injured Mani proved challenging due to the remote location. Upon learning about the attack, Mani's brother rushed to the scene and carried him on his shoulders for over 1.5 kilometres to reach an area accessible by vehicles. Mani was then taken to the government hospital in Nilambur, but he succumbed to his injuries.

Kerala Forest Minister A K Saseendran expressed grief over Mani's death and assured compensation for his family.

Meanwhile, Nilambur MLA P V Anvar vehemently criticised the state government and the forest department over the death of the tribal man, alleging that their lack of effective interventions led to his tragic demise.

Slamming the forest minister for not visiting the area and consoling Mani's family, Anvar also alleged that the postmortem procedures were deliberately delayed.

Workers of the Democratic Movement of Kerala (DMK), a social collective led by him, vandalised the office of the District Forest Officer (DFO) in Nilambur, alleging negligence by forest personnel in addressing man-animal conflicts in the area.

Police said a section of protesters entered the office and created a ruckus before being removed.

Anvar, however, justified his followers' protest, describing it as the people's natural emotional outburst.

"The life of a person has been lost. More lives continue to be in danger. There are no effective interventions or investigations by the forest department. Naturally, there would be protests," the MLA added.

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