Rourkela: A 75-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant that strayed into a residential area in Rourkela township during the early hours of Tuesday.
The victim, identified as Sudhu Badaik, was attacked around 4:30am when he stepped out of his house, located in Hamirpur Kishantola under Sector-19 police station limits.
According to forest officials, the tusker entered the city limits from Kacharu area after midnight, first damaging the boundary wall of a private English-medium school. The elephant's movement was captured on the school's CCTV cameras.
"The deceased's family will receive Rs 6 lakh as compensation," Gynendra Lima, range officer, Panposh forest range said, adding, "We will also assess the damage to the school's boundary wall."
Following the incident, both police and forest officials reached the scene. The body was sent for a post-mortem before being handed over to his family.
The forest department has heightened vigilance in the area. "Our officials will conduct night patrols to prevent the tusker from re-entering human settlements," Lima added.
The elephant reportedly returned to Kacharu area after the incident.