Tuskers kill tribal youth in Kotturu mandal

Srikakulam: A 20-year-old tribal youth was trampled to death by a herd of elephants on Saturday night in the reserve forest area under Ponnuturu village limits of Kotturu mandal.

The deceased was identified as Timpani Kumar, resident of Timpaniguda village under Rayala gram panchayat limits in the same mandal. According to the forest officials, Kumar along with a few others went to the outskirts of the village to see the wild animals, as they heard the news that four tuskers were moving around the village for the last two weeks.

On seeing Kumar and others on Saturday night, the pachyderms got irritated and started attacking them. While others managed to escape, Kumar could not escape and was trampled to death by the tuskers. The local people and officials traced his body on Sunday morning.

On receiving information, District forest officer (DFO) and in-charge for wild life wing Chalumuri Shanthi Swaroop, forest range officer V Somasekhar, forest section officer N Tirupathi Rao and Kotturu police rushed to spot.

The DFO handed over an assistance of Rs 10,000 to the family members of the deceased towards funeral charges. Kumar was the 10th person to be killed by elephants in the district since 2007. According to official sources, at present four tuskers are found at Ponnuturu and another eight are moving near Padali areas in the Agency.