Senior IPS officer’s wife dies in elephant attack at family’s coffee estate in Kodagu

3 min readBengaluruJun 6, 2026 12:25 PM IST

Sandhya Achaya, 51, had gone to inspect work at the estate near Titimati along with the estate manager and driver when the elephant attacked them.

The wife of a senior IPS officer was killed in an elephant attack at the family’s coffee estate in Karnataka’s Kodagu district on Friday morning, bringing renewed focus on the continuing human-elephant conflict in the region.

According to officials, the incident occurred between 10 am and 10.15 am near Konanakatte village when Sandhya Achaya, 51, the wife of Sunil Achaya, had gone to inspect work at the estate near Titimati along with the estate manager and driver.

A wild elephant reportedly emerged unexpectedly and charged at the group. While the manager and driver managed to escape, Sandhya was caught in the attack and suffered severe injuries. She was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital but succumbed to her injuries during treatment, officials said.

“A case has been registered and an inquiry has been initiated into the incident. Forest department officials are also investigating the circumstances that led to the attack and the movement of the elephant in the area,” Bindu Mani, Kodagu Superintendent of Police, said.

Following the incident, Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar telephoned Sunil Achaya, who is serving in a senior position in Delhi, and conveyed his condolences. Describing the incident as deeply tragic, Shivakumar expressed solidarity with the bereaved family and prayed for strength to help them cope with the loss.

He also said that he had instructed authorities to take necessary measures to prevent further incidents involving wild elephants in the region.

The latest fatality comes amid a series of elephant attacks reported from Kodagu this year. In March, 55-year-old Jalajakshi of Valnoor village in Kodagu was killed in a wild elephant attack near a forest-fringe area.

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The district has witnessed several such incidents in recent months, prompting protests by residents and farmers and renewed calls for measures to curb human-elephant conflict.

In response, the Forest Department has undertaken a range of mitigation measures, including the installation of rail barricades, construction of elephant-proof trenches, strengthening of solar fencing, deployment of elephant task force personnel, and efforts to capture identified problem elephants.

However, residents and plantation owners continue to express concern over the frequent movement of elephants into coffee estates and human settlements bordering forest areas.