Five persons were booked for allegedly trespassing into the Nilgiri Eastern Slope Reserve Forest under the Sirumugai Forest Range in Coimbatore to spot an elephant.

Forest personnel, while conducting a patrol in the Uliyur beat of the Pethikuttai section on the evening of August 9, found that the five individuals had entered the forest illegally. Officials said the group had been attracted by posts on Instagram and YouTube about elephant sightings.

A case was registered against them on August 10. The Forest Department collected a compounding fee of ₹5,000 each from them, totalling ₹25,000.

Published - August 11, 2026 02:28 pm IST