ANGUL: A 70-year-old woman of Barunda village under Bantala forest range was trampled to death by an elephant here on Saturday. Jatak Behera had gone to Marthapuri forest near her village to collect mangoes when she came face-to-face with a tusker. The jumbo later trampled her on the spot. On finding her dead, villagers informed the matter to the forest officials.
“Around 60 elephants are roaming in Bantala range area since last few months. We had warned the villagers not to venture into the forest, especially during early mornings and evenings. Despite that, locals go to the forest,” said ranger Niladri Sahoo.
While the body was sent for postmortem, Rs 1 lakh was paid to the deceased’s family as first installment of ex gratia compensation and the rest will be given after proper documentation, Sahoo added. This is reportedly the fourth death in elephant attack in Bantala range in last 15 days.As many as three persons were killed last week which had created widespread anger and resentment among the locals of the area.