By P.T. Bopanna
Sandhya (51), wife of Annalamada Sunil Achaya, IPS, one of India’s top intelligence officers, a native of Kodagu (Coorg) district in Karnataka, was killed in a wild elephant attack in their coffee estate.
I had met Achaya (in picture), a couple of decades ago, while he headed the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in Karnataka. Achaya, a 1991 batch IPS officer of Nagaland cadre, is tipped to head the IB.
The tragic incident occurred on June 5 at Achaya’s coffee estate in Konanakatte village near Thithimathi in Ponnampet taluk. Reports said Sandhya was on her estate rounds when the elephant charged. While the driver and manager of the estate managed to escape, Sandhya suffered grievous injuries.
Achaya’s career has spanned internal intelligence, external intelligence and overseas assignments.
Achaya, 59, is currently serving as Special Secretary in the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), a position widely regarded within the intelligence structure as placing an officer at the second level of the organisation’s leadership hierarchy.
Elephant attacks have become very common in Kodagu district located in the Western Ghats. Elephants from the reserve forests stray into neighbouring villages in search of food and water. Man-animal conflict has become a serious issue in Kodagu and the forest department has failed to solve the problem.