Jamshedpur, June 15 : A 60-year-old man was trampled to death by an elephant herd near Bandih village under Kadaduba panchayat in Chakulia forest range in East Singhbhum, on Friday morning. The victim, Shyamchandra Pal, had gone to nearby jungle when he came too close to the elephant herd.
Chakulia range officer Gorakh Ram said that Pal had gone too close to herd and was subsequently attacked and killed.
�We are investigating the incident. Pal and some other villagers from Bandih went to chase away the elephants but he came very close to the herd, which resulted in his death. A villager was also injured in the attack,� he added.
According to the range officer, around a dozen elephants had crossed the Kharaswati river which flows between Chakulia and Ghatshila range late last night.
The forest department handed over Rs 25,000 to the widow of the deceased for performing his last rites and Rs 3.75 lakh more would be given as compensation after paper work in completed. The body of Pal was later sent to GhatshilaSadar hospital.
An official said that following instructions from his office the local range officers held meetings with the local villagers and gave them the guideline how to evade danger if the herds of elephants stray into the human habitat in their bid of searching food.
He pointed out that he was going to take corrective measures immediately so that the elephants may not destroy any more of the paddy crops by straying into the human habitats.
“As we cannot stop the elephants from migrating from one jungle to another, but can safeguard the villages from the tuskers’ attack on the villages as well as the paddy fields, we have set up separate teams for tuskers- driving wherever the chances of the menace is maximum,” said another forest official.
