A modest single-storey house stands beside the Chavadi-Koduvarachira road in Ward 9 (Puthanchantha) of Thamarakulam grama panchayat near Mavelikara in Alappuzha. A banner hangs on the compound wall facing the road, bearing a photograph in tribute to 63-year-old Sivankutty K. Pillai. On the morning of June 16, during a routine visit to his agricultural fields just a few hundred metres from his home, Pillai was electrocuted by an illegal electric snare set on a neighbouring property to trap wild boars.

Though nearly two weeks have passed since the incident, grief still hangs heavy over Prasanna Bhavanam, Pillai’s home. Moments earlier, relatives and neighbours had gathered there for the post-cremation rituals at his home. His son Shyam S.K. Pillai, who returned from abroad following his father’s death, is sweeping the veranda, his face etched with sorrow. Inside the house, Pillai’s wife, Shobhana Kumari, lies on a cot, expressionless and weary. She has been bedridden for the past few years.

“On that fateful day, he went out, like he did every day. I still cannot believe he is gone. My husband was my sole helping hand. Now I lie here, unable to move, and have to depend on the children for everything — even to lift me. Everything feels empty without him,” says Shobhana, her voice trembling.

At the property where Pillai was electrocuted, a few coconuts still lie on the ground; coconuts he had picked from his land on the way to an adjacent plot, which he also owned. His daughter, S.K. Saranya, vividly remembers her father’s final moments.

“It was around 8 a.m. when I received a call from someone informing me that my father had suffered an electric shock. When I arrived, he was lying on the ground. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. He was unable to speak. I gave him some water. Though we rushed him to a nearby hospital, he couldn’t be saved,” recalls Saranya, her eyes brimming with tears. Saranya says her father was unaware of the electric snare that had been set up on the property.

A lapse that proved costly

Following the incident, the Nooranad police arrested Johnson Cheruvilayil for illegally installing the electric snare. Sources said that Johnson had been setting up electric traps on his property for some time, but failed to disconnect them on June 16. Sivankutty’s death is not an isolated incident.

Two recent incidents expose the deadly risk of illegal wild boar traps: a 15-year-old boy named Ananthu was electrocuted at Vazhikkadavu in Malappuram on June 7; two others were injured. The incident had triggered widespread outrage. A few weeks later, an elderly woman sustained severe injuries in a similar incident at Vaniyamkulam, Palakkad, on July 5.

Dipeesh and Maneesh still shudder with anguish, haunted by the tragic fate of their friend Ananthu. On that evening, as the campaign fervour intensified ahead of the June 19 Nilambur byelection, the five friends were fishing in a canal at Vazhikkadavu when disaster struck. Ananthu’s accidental contact with a live wire connected to the overhead power cable proved fatal.

Victim of stolen power

“It was a cruel twist of fate, a heart-wrenching moment for us. We were powerless as the very thing meant to snare wild boars – stolen power – claimed our innocent friend,” recall Dipeesh and Manesh. Their voices were heavy with grief.’

Ananthu’s tragic death triggered a wave of sympathy as politicians of all stripes rushed to console his heartbroken parents. Yet, the initial media storm surrounding his electrocution during the bypoll quickly dissipated. A few weeks later, Ananthu’s memory has faded. His name has been reduced to just another entry in the grim ledger of electrocution victims.

Tragedy struck Arampottathu Premkumar’s family at Vaniyamkulam on July 5. He had set up a live wire trap in his compound to catch wild boars, unaware that his 69-year-old mother Ratna Malati would become its next victim.

Ratna accidentally touched the trap, and the horrifying consequences unfolded. Premkumar woke up to a nightmare: his mother, severely burned and fighting for her life. Ironically, Premkumar, who is accused by police of being part of a gang that uses stolen power to catch wild boars for meat, inadvertently turned his own home into a death trap.

61 deaths in three years

Indeed, data from the Department of Electrical Inspectorate (EI) show that “unauthorised” electric fencing claimed the lives of 61 people and injured six in the State between 2021-22 and 2024-25. This includes 24 deaths in 2024-25 alone, with Palakkad district accounting for 10, followed by Thrissur (5), Malappuram (3), Pathanamthitta (2), and one each in Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kannur.

G. Vinod, the Chief Electrical Inspector of EI, says that permission from the inspectorate is mandatory for installing electric fences meant to keep out wild animals from farmlands. However, many farmers are using illegal electric fences, which are either directly connected to the Kerala State Electricity Board power line or domestic power supplies.

Energiser, a solution

“Electrocution from electric fences can be avoided if farmers install fence energiser equipment, which transforms electrical power into brief, high-voltage pulses. Coming into contact with a fence connected to an energiser will not be lethal for humans or animals. At the same time, it effectively deters animals from entering the secured area,” he says, adding that an ISI-certified fence energiser costs around ₹10,000.

The EI has also initiated the formation of ward-level committees comprising KSEB officials, panchayat members and representatives of residents’ associations to identify and report illegal electric fences.

“We will also launch awareness campaigns with the help of local agricultural offices to discourage the installation of illegal electric fences and encourage farmers to seek permission before setting up fences. The EI has released a set of guidelines for installing electric fences with energisers,” Mr. Vinod adds.

The broader issue of conflict

While steps are being taken to check the installation of illegal electric fences and prevent casualties, their continued use highlights the broader issue of rising human-wildlife conflict in Kerala. Experts point out that a host of factors, including shifts in cropping patterns, alterations to forest ecosystems, and human encroachment into traditional wildlife migration routes, are leading to crop damage by animals and increased animal aggression.

Between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025, the Forest and Wildlife department approved an amount of ₹7 crore as compensation to victims of wildlife attacks. This includes compensation for crop and cattle loss, human deaths and injuries and damage to houses and other property. During the same period, the department received 6,273 applications seeking compensation for crop loss, of which 2,350 have been approved.

“It is a fact that human-wildlife conflict has increased in the State. However, if we look at the deaths caused by electric snares, all of them have occurred due to illegally installed electric snares. Under no circumstances should the illegal installation of electric snares be permitted. Farmers should install fences by following the government-issued specifications. This will help keep animals away and prevent electrocution of both humans and animals,” says a State Forest department official.

Proposal for scientific culling

Amid ongoing human-wildlife conflicts in the State, the Kerala government is mulling over a proposal to bring in legislation to permit scientific culling of wild animals, particularly wild pigs, which pose a threat to human life, damage property, and destroy agricultural land.

“There have been continuous efforts to amend the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. A resolution was passed in the Legislative Assembly. The Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change was approached several times and informed of the situation in the State, but to no avail. We have prepared a draft Bill, which was vetted by the Advocate General. It has since been forwarded to the Law department for scrutiny,” says State Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran. The government hopes to present the Bill in the next session of the Assembly, he says.

With complaints of crop raids by wild pigs pouring in, State Agriculture Minister P. Prasad suggests setting up a volunteer force comprising retired police and military personnel with gun licences to shoot the marauding boars. Mr. Prasad also says that vacant plots overgrown with vegetation in residential areas should be cleared using workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and that local vigilance committees formed to address the menace.

“The State government has declared human-wildlife conflict a State-specific disaster. Four committees have also been formed. The State committee includes the Chief Minister, four Ministers, and the Chief Secretary. In addition, subcommittees have been formed at various levels. These committees will coordinate various departmental activities in emergencies involving human-wildlife conflict,” says Mr. Prasad.

As the State grapples with rising human-wildlife conflicts and the dangers posed by illegal electric fencing, the family of Sivankutty K. Pillai remains inconsolable. “We want justice to be served and the guilty punished,” says Saranya. People like Saranya, who are caught between live wires and crop-raiding wild beasts, are looking for a permanent solution to the vexing issue that has upset their lives.

(With inputs from Abdul Latheef Naha in Palakkad)