Forest official killed in elephant attack in Chhattisgarh

A forest official was killed by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Korea district today, an official said.

Sitaram Tiwari (61), posted as Deputy Ranger in Manendragarh forest division, was killed in a forest near Shivpur village this evening, Chief Conservator of Forest (Surguja Circle) K K Bisen told PTI.

As per the preliminary information, Tiwari along with three other forest personnel had gone to Shivpur, around 300 km from Raipur, to monitor the movement of elephants in the area, he said.

They came face to face with a group of elephants, and when they tried to run away, one of the elephants lifted Tiwari up with the trunk and slammed him on the ground several times, killing him on the spot, the official said.

A police team was sent to the spot and the body was evacuated, he said.

The thickly forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts, has witnessed several killings of tribals and damage to houses and crops by rogue elephants in the past years.