Raigarh: Two villagers were trampled to death by wild elephants in separate incidents under Dharamjaigarh forest division in Chhattisgarhs Raigarh district, police said today.
Both the incidents took place yesterday, they said.
“While one incident took place in the forest of Jogda village, another one occurred in the jungle of Dahihand village yesterday,” a local police official said.
The farmer, identified as Ramprasad Rathiya (32), was attacked by the pachyderm near Jogda, when he had gone to inspect the crops at his field along with other villagers, the official said.
On spotting the elephant, the victim tried to escape, but the elephant caught hold of him by its trunk and slammed him several times on the ground, which led to his death, the official added.
Other people somehow managed to escape from the spot.
In the second incident, the villager Andharam Manjhi (57) came face-to-face with the elephant, while he was in the forest near Dahihand, following which he was trampled to death by the animal, the official said.
Manjhi hailed from the neighbouring village Barima, which falls under Surguja district in the state, he said.
The kin of both the deceased have been given an instant relief amount, the official said adding that the remaining compensation will be disbursed soon after completing the necessary process.
A herd of 50-60 wild elephants was roaming in Dharamjaigarh range, he said adding that villagers have been advised to take precautions and stay alert.
Besides, forest personnel have been directed to keep an eye on the movement of pachyderms in order to avoid human-jumbo conflicts, he added.
The thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts, is notorious for the incidents related to human-elephant conflict.
The region has witnessed several killings of tribals and widespread damages to houses and crops by rogue elephant in the past years.
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