A 35-year-old man was trampled to death by an elephant in a forest pocket of Chhattisgarh’s Surajpur district, officials said on Monday. The victim identified as Sonsai Pando was attacked by the elephant last evening near Jhingadohra village of Songara area while he was on way home, Division Forest Officer (DFO) Surajpur division Naved Shujauddin said.
A herd of 18 elephants was camping in Jhingdohra forest from last few days, said the official. On Sunday evening, when Pando was heading towards his house at Pandridand village, he was attacked by one of the elephant who was separated from the group, leaving him dead on the spot, the DFO said. Soon after getting the news of the incident, police personnel and forest officials were rushed to the spot and drove the animal away into the forest, he said. The kin of the deceased have been given an instant relief amount of Rs 25,000 by the forest department, the official said.
The thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Korba, Surajpur, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts, are notorious for human-elephant conflicts. The region has witnessed several killings of tribals and widespread damages to houses and crops by the elephants in past few years.