Chhattisgarh: Elderly man killed by wild elephants in Jashpur

A 75-year-old man was killed by a herd of wild elephants in a village in the forest of Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district, a forest official said on Saturday. The incident took place on Friday night when Sadhoram Toppo was trying to escape after a herd of elephants destroyed a wall of his house in Pandribahla village under Pathalgaon forest range, Jashpur divisional forest officer Shrikrishna Jadhav said.

On sensing the presence of elephants, the deceased's wife and two sons managed to flee from the spot, while tuskers caught hold of Toppo and slammed him on the ground with their trunks, killing him on the spot, he said. The police and forest personnel reached the spot after being alerted about the incident this morning, he said.

The kin of the deceased have been provided an immediate relief of Rs 25,000, while remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh will be given to them after completion of formalities, he added. This herd of around 10 elephants has recently entered Pathalgaon forests from Dharamjaigarh forest division in neighbouring Raigarh district and locals have been asked to remain alert to avoid conflict, he said. Dense forested areas of northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur and Koriya districts, are notorious for incidents of human-elephant conflict.