Ex-serviceman trampled to death by wild elephant in C'garh

A retired Army man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district on Saturday, a forest official said.

The deceased, identified as Irdaus Lakra (68), had gone out to answer nature's call at his vegetable farm adjacent to his house in Sithra village under Chhal forest range in the wee hours when he was attacked by the elephant, he said.

"Lakra, a retired Army man, died on the spot in the attack. After being informed about the incident, forest personnel reached the place and sent the body for post- mortem," the official said.

The kin of the deceased have been provided immediate relief of Rs 25,000, he added.

According to the official, a herd of 11 elephants has been spotted in this forest range and the forest personnel have been directed to keep a tab on their movement to avoid untoward incidents.

After the incident, local residents staged a protest and blocked the Dharamjaigarh road for about three hours, demanding protection from the wild elephants.

The villagers also asked the forest department to keep them informed about the movement of wild elephants and provide them equipment like torches to keep the pachyderm away from human habitations. The protesters were later pacified by the forest officials.

The forested Surguja division comprising five districts- Surguja, Jashpur, Koriya, Balrampur and Surajpur- and two other districts- Korba and Raigarh- of Bilaspur division, are notorious for human-elephant conflict incidents.

The region, which falls in northern part of the state, has witnessed several killings of villagers and widespread damages to houses and crops by rogue elephants in past years.