Jumbo herd tramples two to death in Dhenkanal

DHENKANAL: A herd of elephants trampled two persons, Manas Ranjan Sahoo (39) and Prahalad Behera (51), to death at Bada Khanda Nullah near Sarang in Parjang block of the district on Tuesday.

The incident took place when they were on their way to Bada Khanda Nullah from Sana Khanda Nullah by crossing the forest. A herd of 20 elephants chased and attacked the duo resulting in their deaths.The two persons were known to be Babas  staying in an ashram. Manas  belonged to Bhairapur village while Prahalad was from Andharikhole village.Tension ran high in the village following their deaths. Eight persons have died due to elephant attacks in the last 20 days.

70-yr-old falls victim trying to save paddy

Nuapada: A 70-year-old man, Sahadeb Parabhue, was trampled to death by an elephant at  Karangabhata village in Sialati Gram Panchayat of Komna block in the district on Tuesday. Reports said Sahadeb was working in his paddy field when a herd of seven elephants invaded his field. In a bid to save his standing paddy crop from the marauding elephants, Sahadeb tried to chase them away only to be trampled to death by one of the elephants in the herd. Sources say the herd had been roaming in the area. An ex gratia of `1 lakh has been provided to the family of the deceased, Divisional Forest Officer Kushwant Singh said.