One killed, another injured in elephant attack in Chhattisgarh

Bilaspur: A 47-year-old man was killed and another injured in an elephant attack in Chhattisgarh's Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi (GPM) district on Friday, a forest official said.

With this, three people have been killed in attacks by jumbos in the district bordering Madhya Pradesh in the last three months.

The incident took place near Maladand village under Sivni forest circle in the morning, when the victims were out for labour work under MGNREGA, said Dinesh Patel, divisional forest officer (DFO) Marwahi forest division.

"Badiram Panika, Sahdev Panika (50) and Ranjeet Armo were on their way home after work, when they encountered a tusker. The elephant lifted Sahdev with its trunk and flung him and then attacked Badiram, critically injuring him," the official said.

Sahdev, who fractured his leg, managed to escape along with Ranjeet and alerted locals, following which the injured men were shifted to Marwahi primary health centre, from where they were referred to Gaurela district hospital, he said.

Badiram succumbed to injuries during treatment there, the official said.

The kin of the deceased were provided an instant relief of Rs 25,000, while the remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh will be given after the completion of necessary formalities, he said.

A herd of three elephants had entered Marwahi forest from neighbouring Anuppur forest division and the tusker that attacked the villagers belongs to the same herd, he added.

Earlier on March 20, a 10-year-old girl was trampled to death by an elephant near Rumga village of the area, while a woman was killed in a similar attack near Parasi village on March 24.

Human-elephant conflicts in the northern part of the state have been a major cause of concern for the last one decade and the menace has further spread to some districts of the central region in the last few years.

Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Mahasamund, Dhamtari and Gariaband are some of the districts facing the menace.

According to forest officials, over 200 people were killed in elephant attacks in the state in the last three years.