Elephant crushes man to death in C'garh

A 55-year-old man was crushed to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district on Saturday, a forest official said.

The incident took place on Saturday morning near Sagjor village on Chhattisgarh-Odisha border, when the victim Anand Prakash Tigga and his wife were waiting for a bus on the road that passes through a dense forest, he said.

The victim's wife was taking him to a hospital in Jashpur town, he added.

A jumbo, who strayed into the area, attacked the victim while his wife ran for cover, the official said.

The elephant lifted the victim with its trunk and threw him on the ground, killing him on the spot, he said.

The deceased's wife managed to reach the nearby village and informed locals who alerted authorities, he said, adding that the body was sent for an autopsy.

The victim's kin were given a relief of Rs 25,000, while the remaining compensation would be released on completion of formalities, he said.

Several incidents of human-elephant conflict have been reported from the forested areas of northern Chhattisgarh including Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Korea districts.