RANCHI: Three members of a family, including an infant, were killed early Tuesday morning in a wild elephant attack in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, officials said.
With the latest incident, the death toll from elephant attacks in the district has risen to nine in the past six days, while six others have been seriously injured. The elephant is believed to have strayed from its herd.
The incident occurred in Sowan village of Goilkera block, the worst-affected area, when the elephant attacked a hut and crushed the occupants. The deceased were identified as Kundra Bahda, his daughter Kodma Bahda and his son Samu Bahda.
According to officials, Kundra Bahda was sleeping with his family when the elephant entered the village late at night and attacked the house. His wife managed to escape, while another daughter, Jingi Bahda, sustained serious head injuries. She was provided first aid and later referred to Rourkela for further treatment.
Officials said a specialised team from West Bengal has been deployed to trace and drive the elephant back into the forest. The forest department has so far been unable to track the animal.
A tusker has reportedly been roaming across several villages in Goilkera block, attacking residents, damaging houses and destroying stored food grains. Tribal families in the affected areas have suffered loss of life as well as livelihoods.
A forest department team reached the village after the incident and provided Rs 20,000 as immediate relief to the families of the deceased. Officials said the process for government compensation has been initiated.
Villagers have expressed concern over repeated elephant attacks and demanded continuous monitoring, deployment of rapid-response teams and long-term mitigation measures, officials said.