A 50-year-old Adivasi man was found dead, with a majority of his body being consumed by a carnivore in Kotagiri on Monday evening.
The deceased was identified as Vellingiri, originally from Konavakarai village who was residing in Aravenu. He had reportedly been missing since Thursday, prompting his family to launch a search for him in the area. On Monday, they discovered pieces of his clothing in a tea estate located between Aravenu and Catherine Falls and informed the police and forest department.
Teams from both departments launched a search and found his remains on Monday evening with pug marks believed to belong to a leopard also found nearby.
When contacted, Divisional Forest Officer (Nilgiris), S. Gowtham, told The Hindu that investigations were ongoing into the incident. He said that while the animal had consumed parts of Vellingiri’s body, that there were chances that it could have also scavenged on his remains post-mortem. “We have to conduct further forensic analysis using his clothes and other clues from the scene of occurrence. We are also analysing CCTV footage from the area to see if there are more clues that point to the events leading up to his death,” said Mr. Gowtham.
The forest department has also set up camera traps in the area to capture images of the animal in the area.
Published – February 02, 2026 09:00 pm IST
