Wild elephant gores rare 'Cholanaikkan' tribe member to death

Thiruvananthapuram: A rare Asian 'Cholanaikkan' tribe member, invited for the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi in 2005 by President of India, was gored to death by a wild elephant inside Karulai Forest in Nilambur Taluk of Malappuram district in Kerala.

The 78-year-old deceased has been identified as Mathan who belongs to Asia's vanishing Cholanaikkan tribal community which numbers about 280 and lives in caves in Kerala.

The wild elephant attacked him when he was going to collect the ration rice from the Centre of an Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) on Wednesday afternoon. He died on the spot.

During his visit to the National Capital along with his wife to meet the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, his wife Karikka was allegedly frisked by the Special Protection Group (SPG) thus failing to meet the PM, as a piece of arecanut and tobacco, which the tribals chew, were found from Karikka.

Cholanaikkans, the only tribe in Asia that lives in caves, are said to have migrated from Mysore forests. They are categorised as a particularly vulnerable tribal group by the Government of India. (UNI)