Man injured in jumbo attack dies at Vellore GH

Govindaraj (60) and Kuppusamy (55), both of Mordana, accompanied by Thangavel (50) of Bodiappanur and Gajendran (45) of Jangalapalli were proceeding to the reservoir on September 11 for fishing. Suddenly, a wild elephant chased and while trying to escape all the four were injured. Govindaraj suffered serious injuries and was admitted to the Government Hospital in Gudiyattam.

Later, he was shifted to the Vellore Government Medical Hospital where he succumbed on Sunday.

Problems cropped up after the forest department claimed that Govindaraj was injured while escaping from the elephant.

 However, government doctors who treated him, on condition of anonymity, said Govindaraj suffered broken ribs, one of which punctured his lungs causing his death. “A mere fall while running from wild animals cannot result in broken ribs,” a doctor said. 

“The victim’s ribs were broken as he was forcefully hit on the body,” the doctor added. 

Enquiries revealed that the forest department regularly attributed such fatalities to fall in a bid to prevent unnecessary demand for compensation. 

However, relatives of the deceased have decided to appeal to higher authorities for compensation.