Chg: 7-year-old girl saves younger sister from angry jumbos

A seven-year-old tribal girl risked her life to save her three-year-old sister from a herd of elephants in a village in Chhattisgarh's Sarguja district, police said today.

The incident occurred on July 17 night in Mohanpur village under Udaipur development block of the district when a herd of elephants had stormed into the village, said Station House Officer (SHO), Lakhanpur police station, SK Kerketta.

He said the name of Kranti Paikra would be recommended to senior state officials for a national bravery award.

A herd of elephant had entered Mohanpur village, located around 450 kms away from Raipur, and destroyed some houses and injured some cattle, he said.

 

When the pachyderms attacked the house of a villager, identified as Khoraram, all the family members fled.

"Soon they realised that they had left behind the three-year-old girl member of the family. Without wasting any time, Khoraram's grand-daughter, Kranti, rushed inside the house crossing the herd of elephants and evacuated her sister safely," the SHO said.

The girl deserved the award as she has brilliantly showcased courage and the presence of mind, the SHO said, adding that her name would be recommended to senior state officials for the national bravery award given on August 15.

Divisional Forest Officer (Sarguja division) Priyanka Pandey also confirmed the incident.

She said the forest and police personnel visited the village and spoke to the girl and her family members, during which it was confirmed that she had indeed saved her younger sister.

"Some houses were destroyed and cattle were injured in the attack by the elephants. Compensation will be given to the villagers, after assessment of the damage," she said.

Notably, thickly forested northern Chhattisgarh comprising Sarguja, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts, is notorious for incidents of human-elephant conflicts.

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