The final rites of P.D. Abraham of Kakkayam, who was killed in a wild gaur attack on March 5, were held at St. Sebastians Church in Koorachundu grama panchayat of Kozhikode on March 7 (Thursday) evening.
Mar Remigios Inchananiyil, Thamarassery Bishop, led the rituals. The body of the 70-year-old farmer was earlier kept at the parish hall for the public to pay their last respects. M.K. Raghavan, MP, and K.M. Sachindev, MLA, among others, were present.
Earlier, the body was taken in a procession from Koorachundu town to his house in Kakkayam. The body was handed over to relatives after post-mortem and police inquest proceedings at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, by around 1 p.m.
The inquest could not be taken up earlier because Abraham’s family refused to give consent for it. The family had been insisting that the authorities issue an order to shoot the wild animal dead, announce a compensation of ₹50 lakh, a government job for one of the family members, and install fencing to ward off wild animals. The authorities were willing to consider the last three demands, and a decision was taken to release ₹10 lakh as initial compensation.
Though multiple rounds of talks involving Congress leaders, District Collector Snehil Kumar Singh, and the Forest department till Wednesday evening, a consensus could not be reached on shooting the wild animal dead. Protests were held both in Kakkayam and in Kozhikode city following this.
Later, a final round of talks were held in the night where the authorities agreed to all the demands. The order issued by the Chief Conservator of Forests, Kannur, says that the animal shall be killed if it could not be tranquillised or captured only after establishing that it was responsible for the death of Abraham. The family members and farmers’ organisations have said that the protests would be resumed if the authorities went back on their assurances.
