Two people lost their lives on Sunday after being trampled by a wild tusker in the Ganjam district of Odisha, according to officials.
The victims, identified as 53-year-old Urmila Rout and 67-year-old Gopinath Pradhan, were residents of Jalameripalli village within the Digapahandi block.
The fatal encounter occurred while the two were tending to their vegetable field. A lone tusker, which had become separated from its herd, launched a sudden attack on them.
“The elephant first attacked my wife when she tried to flee the spot. It then picked the man up by the trunk and tossed him up in the air,” eyewitness Simanchal Rout said.
Local people rushed both victims to the nearby community health centre in Digapahandi, where the doctors declared them dead.
Paralakhemundi DFO Nagaraju K said that the tusker had entered Jalameripalli village after crossing the Ghodahada river in the Digapahandi range. After killing the two persons, it again returned to the Digapahandi range, he said.
The DFO said that forest personnel from the Chandragiri and Digapahandi ranges, under the Berhampur and Paralakhemundi divisions, are actively monitoring the elephant’s movements.
The DFO said compensation under the government provisions will be issued to the families of the deceased.
An immediate payment of Rs 1 lakh will be distributed to each family within 24 hours, with the remaining Rs 9 lakh provided once formalities, such as post-mortem examinations, are finished.
Additionally, the Ganjam district administration has allocated Rs 30,000 from the Red Cross to each family to assist with funeral expenses.
