Elephant Herd Kills Three in Ramgarh; Villagers Protest

Ramgarh: A herd of wild elephants rampaged through the Gola block of Ramgarh district early Friday morning, trampling three people to death. The fatalities have sparked intense fear and local outrage against the Forest Department as human-wildlife conflict continues to escalate in Jharkhand.

Details of the Attacks

The violence occurred in two separate incidents as a herd of approximately 12 elephants moved from the Bokaro forests into residential areas:

• Banda Village: At approximately 4 a.m., the herd surrounded and killed two brick kiln laborers, Dheeraj Bhuiyan and Jugal Bhuiyan, after they stepped outside.

• Murpa Village: In a nearby settlement, the elephants attacked and killed 80-year-old Ramdev Shaw while he was collecting Mahua flowers in the early morning hours.

Police and Forest Department officials have since recovered the bodies and sent them for post-mortem examination.

Community Outrage and Official Response

Local residents and leaders have slammed the Forest Department for failing to track the herd effectively. Banda Panchayat Mukhiya Kuldeep Tiwari alleged that authorities possessed prior information about the herd’s movement but failed to warn the community or intercept the animals before they reached human settlements.

In response to the tragedy, officials announced a total compensation of ₹4 lakh for each victim’s family. Authorities distributed an immediate relief payment of ₹25,000 on the spot, with the remaining balance to be disbursed following administrative formalities.

A Growing Crisis in Jharkhand

This incident marks a grim trend in the state’s worsening human-elephant conflict. Just last week, a similar attack claimed three lives in Koderma. Shocking official data reveals that elephant-related incidents have killed more than 28 people across Jharkhand in the last 50 days alone, highlighting an urgent need for more robust forest monitoring and conflict-mitigation strategies.