Security Guard Trampled To Death By Wild Elephant At Coimbatore's Bharathiar University

When security personnel attempted to drive them away again, one of the elephants turned aggressive and attacked Shanmughan, resulting in his immediate death.

Bharathiar University is located adjacent to a dense forest area making it common for wild elephants to venture near the campus. (Image for representation) ( Image Source :Pixabay )

A security guard was trampled to death by a wild elephant inside Bharathiar University campus in Coimbatore Tamil Nadu. The incident occurred on Thursday morning when a group of wild elephants entered the university grounds.

The deceased was identified as Shanmughan. According to the police reports, on the day of the mishap, forest personnel were immediately alerted and they drove the elephants out of the campus. However, due to the synchronized elephant survey that began on the same day, the forest staff had to leave the area soon after.

Two wild elephants re-entered the campus shortly after the forest personnel had left. When security personnel attempted to drive them away again, one of the elephants turned aggressive and attacked Shanmughan, resulting in his immediate death.

Bharathiar University is located adjacent to a dense forest area making it common for wild elephants to venture near the campus. Following the incident, forest department officials returned to the scene, and Shanmughan's body was transferred to the Coimbatore Government Medical College hospital for a post-mortem examination.

In 2022, over 500 students were made to stay inside the hospital as a herd of elephants roamed on the University premises. Even then, the Forest Department officials entered the campus and drove the jumbos out

Tamil Nadu Forest Department Begins Elephant Census

The Tamil Nadu Forest Department started a three-day elephant census at the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) on Thursday, according to the officials. Around 300 forest officials have been assigned to conduct the census across 10 forest ranges within STR. To ensure the safety of the enumerators, the department has implemented several precautionary measures, including providing firearms for protection against animal attacks, as well as supplying drinking water and food.

The census is scheduled to be conducted daily from 6 am to 6 pm until Saturday.