Kannur: A crested serpent eagle that arrived as a guest at a few houses here in Iritty has now turned into a villain. At first, it gained the love of the people in the neighbourhood, now it has started to hurt people when it isn’t given food on time. Six families residing in Kallumutty are in deep trouble because of this eagle. 

The eagle first arrived at the house of Mustafa, a resident in the area, around six months back. It soon became a frequent visitor thereafter a few houses in the neighbourhood started feeding it. They stopped feeding the eagle after it attacked a guest who arrived at Mustafa’s house. When the people stopped feeding the eagle, it grew vicious and started attacking more people. So far, it has attacked six people. Last day, it attacked a man across his eye. He was saved by sheer luck and rushed to Iritty Taluk Hospital for treatment. 

The people in the locality are now scared to even step outside. They have alerted the Forest Department about the matter. But the officials informed them that one of them who is familiar with the eagle should help the officials to catch it.