BENGALURU: A 63-year-old farmer lost his life after a wild elephant attacked him while he was going to his silk farm on Sunday.
The incident happened in Harohallidoddi village at Harohalli hobli of Kanakapura taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru at 5.30 am.
The police said the deceased has been identified as Thimmegowda, who had been associated with sericulture farming. He was trampled by an elephant while he was going towards Harohallidoddi to water his farm in the early hours of Sunday.
The elephant first attacked Thimmegowda with his head following which he fell on the ground and then stepped on his chest moments after which the farmer collapsed. Meanwhile, the Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) Lingaraju and other forest officials visited the spot.
Following the incident, the villagers gathered at the spot in large numbers and expressed their anger against the forest department. They also said that they live in fear as elephants are often seen around the area and blamed the department for the lack of safety measures in place to control the elephants from entering the area.
Meanwhile, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar instructed the forest authorities to provide compensation for Thimmegowda’s family and also instructed the forest department to take appropriate action to control the elephants.