Tusker Pallattu Brahmadathan, who died in a lightning strike, cremated in Keralam

The premises of the Pallattu house at Melambara near Pala witnessed a large gathering on Monday as people from different parts of the State arrived to pay their last respects to Pallattu Brahmadathan, a 54-year-old tusker who died after being struck by lightning on Sunday evening.

People had poured in to the house here since Sunday to catch a final glimpse of the elephant, which had been a familiar presence at temple festivals across Keralam for nearly three decades. After the Forest department completed the post-mortem examination by noon, the animal was cremated on a plot near the house.

The tusker, brought to Keralam around 1999, had been initially owned by Pothen Varghese of Puthuppally and was known as Puthuppally Brahmadathan. He was later bought by Rajesh Pallattu, State president of the Kerala Festival Coordination Committee, and came to be known as Pallattu Brahmadathan.

The elephant had been under observation for musth and was resting at a shed on the premises of the house when lightning struck on Sunday evening. The tusker was slated to be released from the shed within a week after the musth period ended. The post-mortem report is expected to establish the exact cause of death.

Official sources said a similar incident was reported in Pala 12 years ago, when a tusker named Thiruvappallil Krishnan Kutty died at Kadapattur near Pala after being struck by lightning.