A farmer from Gundlupet taluk in Chamarajanagar district was killed by a tusker in his field near Nanjgangud on Thursday.
He and wife Rani were plucking cotton when Mahadevaswamy saw the elephant. He ran towards his wife alerting her of the impending danger. But, the elephant turned towards him and attacked him, killing him on the spot.
As the news of his death spread, local residents blocked a stretch of NH 212 . Senior Forest Department officials, including ACF Pooviah , visited the spot and pacified the crowd. A cheque of Rs. 2 lakh was handed over to the family members of the victim and an additional Rs. 3 lakh will be issued after formalities are completed, said Mr. Pooviah
Another death
In Ramanagaram district, a 60-year-old farmer was trampled to death while another sustained injuries after an elephant entered a field in Kanakapura taluk late on Wednesday.
Villagers, who keep night vigil over their crops, heard that a female elephant had strayed into human habitat from the adjacent forests.
Mahadeva Naik of Hallakuli village, who was on night vigil, rushed to chase away the elephant that had entered his field, along with another farmer.
Unfortunately, his torch struck the animal, and it trampled him to death.
The other farmer, who tried to save Mahadev, sustained minor injuries. Later, a large number of farmers gathered at the spot and demanded action from the forest officials against such frequent man-animal conflicts.
The Kodihalli police registered a case of unnatural death.
Farmers, who keep night vigil over their crops, heard of an elephant straying into human habitat