Raigarh, August 3

A 55-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district on Tuesday, a forest official said.

The victim Sifir Kujur was attacked by a pachyderm in Balpeda village under Dharamjaigarh forest division, even as local villagers tried to chase the animal away, the official said.

The elephant had strayed into the village in the morning and destroyed the house of a villager, following which locals attempted to chase it into the forest, divisional forest officer (Dharamjaigarh) S Manivasagan said.

The victim was severely injured in the attack and died while being shifted to a local hospital, he said.

Forest personnel rushed to the spot and chased the pachyderm away, the official said, adding that the kin of the deceased have been given an instant relief of Rs 25,000 and the remaining compensation will be disbursed after completion of necessary formalities.

With this incident, at least seven people have been killed in similar attacks so far this year, while two elephants have been electrocuted in Dharamjaigarh area, forest officials said.

Several incidents of human-elephant conflict have been reported in the past from the thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Korea districts.

The state government had recently informed the Chhattisgarh Assembly that at least 204 people had died in elephant attacks, while 45 jumbos died in the state in the last three years. — PTI