MALAPPURAM: Nilambur legislator P V Anvar was arrested on Sunday for allegedly vandalising the District Forest Office (DFO) following a protest over the death of a tribal man in an elephant attack in this north Kerala district, police said.

Earlier in the day, Anvar, an independent MLA, criticised the state government and the forest department over the death of the tribal man Mani, who was trampled by a wild elephant on Saturday evening.

The workers of the Democratic Movement of Kerala (DMK), a social collective led by the MLA, staged a protest in front of the forest office alleging negligence by wildlife personnel in addressing man-animal conflicts in the area.

Nearly 10 of them trespassed into the North DFO office and vandalised the office room.

Nilambur police booked Anvar and 10 others over the incident under various sections of the BNS and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.