Elderly man killed by wild elephants in C'garh

An elderly man lost his life after he was attacked by a herd of wild elephants in a village in Surjapur district in northern Chhattisgarh, police said today.

The incident took place yesterday.

This is the third incident in the last four days in the northern region of the state, in which an elephant or a group of them killed a human being.

"The incident took place yesterday when the victim identified as Mansai (65) had gone to pick mahua fruits in Sakalpur village forest under Pratappur forest range," Sub Divisional Officer (Pratappur forest range) Prabhakar Khalko said.

There, he was attacked by a herd of wild elephants. When some villagers working in the fields adjacent to the site informed the forest and police officials about the incident, they rushed to the spot, she said.

The wife of the deceased was given an instant relief amount of Rs 25,000 by the forest department, while the remaining compensation of Rs 3.75 lakh will be released after completing the necessary formalities, Khalko added.

The movement of a group of 60 jumbos is being reported in the area from the last few days. The chances of human-animal conflict increase during this season as villagers go in the forest areas to pluck tendu leaves as well as mahua fruits.

On April 9, a 50-year-old man was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants in Pratappur forest range.

Similarly, on Sunday (April 8), a 62-year-old farmer was killed in an elephant attack in Dharamjaigarh forest division of the region's Raigarh district.

"After the recent incidents, the villagers have been advised to take precautions and stay alert," she said.

The thickly-forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts, are notorious for incidents of human-elephant conflict.

The region has witnessed killings of several people and damages to houses and crops by rogue elephants in the last few years.