A 50-year-old villager was killed by a wild jumbo when a group of people and forest officials were attempting to drive a herd of wild jumbos back into the jungle near Bamankoppa of Khanapur taluk in the late hours of Saturday.
The deceased is Vasudev Buddhappa Bramhanekar, a resident of Bamankoppa. Following the elephant menace in and around Bamankoppa, the Forest Department had decided to drive the wild elephants back into the jungle. Two teams along with villagers were formed to engage in forcing the elephant herd to leave human habitation with the help of crackers and smoke.
During the drive, one of the tuskers attacked the team that included Bramhanekar. This set panic among the men who ran towards the village to save themselves. However, Bramhanekar could not escape the tusker, died on the spot.
The Forest department has announced a compensation of `5 lakh to the family.