A large herd of wild elephants terrorised the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Palakkad campus at Kanjikode and its neighbourhood on Monday, causing hours of angst and tension among the people.
There were 17 bulls in the herd that was seen in the fringe areas of the Kanjikode forest in the last few days. Sending shockwaves through the residents, the herd started moving towards the populated areas on Monday morning. The herd terrorised the IIT campus, Mukroni and Thalappallam areas for over two hours.
The elephants entered the IIT campus by breaking its compound wall. Then they started raiding Mukroni and Thalappallam areas. A large group of forest officers led by Walayar Range Officer P. Suresh chased away the elephant herd by bursting crackers. It took a couple of hours for the elephants to return to the jungle. Four forest watchers were injured while driving away the herd.
Local people said that a tusker with signs of musth nicknamed PT-5 had joined the herd, and the tusker was responsible for bringing the herd to the IIT campus. The tusker had been a cause of worry for the people living in the fringe areas in the last two years.
Forest officers said that they had enhanced vigil in the area.
