BARIPADA: Two women were trampled to death and a man was injured after a wild elephant attacked them in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district on Tuesday, having strayed from the herd, police said.
The tusker attacked Subhadra Rana, a 62-year-old woman, when she was plucking flowers in from Polasmundali village, and killed her on the spot, they said.
The elephant then proceeded to nearby Tukpalasia village and attacked two more persons - Pramila Mohanto, a 45 -year-old woman, and Indrajeet Mohanto, aged 32, Morada police station inspector in-charge Kuni Besra said.
Both were injured and taken to Baripada's PRM Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared the woman brought dead, he said.
The injured man is undergoing treatment at the hospital, the officer said.
The police registered a case of unnatural death and sent the bodies for post-mortem, Besra said.
Rasgovindpur forest range officer Prashant Kumar Behera said the tusker has strayed away from Dalma wildlife sanctuary of Jharkhand and efforts are on to make the animal return to its habitat.