Man trampled to death by elephants in C'garh

A herd of wild elephants wreaked havoc in a village at Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district, killing an elderly man and destroying three houses on Saturday, a forest official said.

The incident took place in Sirikima village under the Tapkara forest range in the early hours, when the elephants barged into the village and went on a rampage, the official said.

One of the villagers, Sonsai (61), who was trying to escape, got trapped between the pachyderms and was trampled to death, he said.

The deceased's kin were provided the initial relief amount of Rs 25,000 by the forest department, while the remaining compensation will be disbursed once all the formalities are completed, the official said.

Villagers have been advised not to venture into the forest, as separate groups of at least 25 elephants have been spotted in the area in the last few days, he said.

Notably, the thick forested region of northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Korea districts, has witnessed several incidents of human-elephant conflict.