Newly elected MLA Aryadan Shoukath gets stranded in forest after boat breakdown

Malappuram: Newly elected MLA Aryadan Shoukath was stranded for three hours in the forested region of Vaniyampuzha on Thursday after the engine of a dinghy boat carrying him and a group of officials broke down while returning from accompanying the body of a tribal man killed in a wild elephant attack, police said here.

The Congress leader, who is set to take oath as a Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, had accompanied the body of the man, named Billi, who was killed in the Munderi forest a day earlier.

The post-mortem was conducted at Manjeri Medical College earlier in the day.

Accompanied by NDRF and fire force teams, the body was transported across the Chaliyar river to Vaniyampuzha by around 2 pm using a dinghy. However, on the return trip, the boat's engine failed, leaving Shoukath and the team stranded in the forest. The river was in spate following heavy rainfall.

The security officials later crossed the river and managed to repair the engine before returning to the forest to bring the MLA and others safely back to the shore, police added.

Shoukath, representing the Congress-led UDF, won the recent Nilambur bypoll and is scheduled to formally assume office in the state capital on Friday.