Kannur, Kerala: In a tragic incident, a tribal couple was trampled to death by a wild elephant in the Aralam Farm wildlife sanctuary on Sunday.

The victims have been identified as Velli, 82, and his wife Leela, 74, residents of the 13th block of the farm.

The reports suggest that the elephant attacked them while they were picking cashew nuts. Condemning the incident BJP has declared 'hartal' in the region on Monday. 

The incident happened on Sunday evening near a residential area. The issue of elephant disturbances is particularly severe in the Aralam tribal resettlement area.

There is a strong demand for the completion of the solar fencing, but progress has been slow.

The forest department officials said that the bodies were taken to the nearby government taluk hospital for post-mortem. However, tensions escalated as locals blocked police from conducting the inquest procedures, demanding the immediate presence of forest officials at the site.

Angered by repeated wildlife attacks, residents staged a protest with the mortal remains of the tribal couple, refusing to release the bodies until the government provided a concrete solution to the issue. Protesters alleged that despite frequent elephant incursions into their farms and residential areas, the Forest Department had taken no effective action.

Forest officials and political representatives, including MLA Sunny Joseph, intervened to pacify the protesters. After negotiations, the bodies were shifted to Government Pariyaram Medical College.

With their deaths, the number of people killed in wild elephant attacks in the Aralam Farm area over the past six years has risen to eleven.