A gaur killed a man near here, and one of his relatives died due to a heart attack following the incident, and people refuse to cremate the bodies until the government gives assurances to eliminate the menace of wild animals from the locality, police said on Sunday.
Sunil (40), a native of Vayaad Colony in Vilangad, was gored to death by a gaur on Saturday while he was with forest officials trying to drive the herd from a residential area.
His body was brought to his house around 11 pm on Saturday following an autopsy.
The situation took a tragic turn after Vijesh, a relative of Sunil, suffered a heart attack and died following the death of his cousin, police said.
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The residents decided not to cremate either of the bodies until they receive assurance from the Forest Department that wild gaurs that have been straying in the area will be eliminated, officials said.
Residents are demanding ₹25 lakh as compensation for Sunil's family.
{{/usCountry}}Residents are demanding ₹25 lakh as compensation for Sunil's family.
{{/usCountry}}Residents told reporters that gaurs have become aggressive towards humans and demanded that they be shot.
They said the animals are still present in the surrounding areas, posing a serious threat to people and damaging crops.
"The gaurs came down and have destroyed nearly two acres of cashew plantations recently. What forest officials do is show up with a couple of firecrackers. The government has money for everything else, but no funds for this issue alone," a farmer told reporters.
MLA K M Abhijith said the specific gaur involved in the attack had to be identified before further action could be taken and said discussions had been held with officials on Saturday night.
He told reporters that the family and residents had shared certain demands and concerns.
"The government will stand with them to do whatever it takes to resolve these issues," he said.
The MLA said ₹14 lakh was currently provided as compensation in such cases and the first instalment of ₹five lakh would be given to the family soon.
He said the Forest Department had taken the initiative to drive the gaurs from the area and a decision regarding the shooting of the animal involved in Sunil's death would be taken by the government soon.