Elderly man killed by elephant in Chhattisgarh

A 60-year-old man was trampled to death today by a wild elephant in the Kartala forest range area of Chhattisgarh's Korba district, a forest official said. The victim, Ghusiram Rathiya, was attacked by the elephant when he had gone to collect mangoes in the forest adjacent to his village Champa this morning, he said. While collecting mangoes, he spotted two pachyderms following which he tried to escape from there.

However, one of the elephants chased the elderly man and crushed him to death, he said. Some local villagers spotted his body and informed police and forest officials, who rushed to the spot, he said. The kin of the deceased was given an instant relief amount of Rs 25,000 by the forest department, while the remaining compensation of Rs 3.75 lakh (rpt Rs 3.75 lakh) will be disbursed after completing all formalities, the official said.

Villagers have been advised not to venture inside the forest in view of reports that a group of at least 35 jumbos is roaming in the area for the last few days, he said. Notably, the thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Korea districts, is known for incidents of human-elephant conflict. The region has witnessed several killings of tribals and widespread damage to houses and crops by rogue elephants in the past years.