As the news of arrival of elephants came, the curious villagers made a beeline to see the jumbos. “We requested the villagers not to move outside the village to avoid direct contact with elephants, but they did not respond,” said a forest official. Result of which: A man was killed by the elephants, he added. The deceased was identified as Baishku Chhatria (30) of Pankelbahali village. He is survived by a son and three daughters.
Forest officials gave `5,000 to the father of the deceased for funeral rites expenses. “We are also taking steps to assess the crop damages caused by the elephants during last few days,” the official said.
Notably, a total of 24 jumbos from the Redhakhol forests surfaced at Mangalamunda village. Sources said the herd of the elephants has now moved to Subarnapur district.