DHENKANAL/BERHAMPUR: An elderly man was trampled to death by an elephant near Chiruli village under Joranda beat of the Sadangi forest range in Dhenkanal’s Gondia block on Friday. The deceased, 65-year-old Narayan Bhoi, was a resident of Chiruli.
Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Dhenkanal Sumit Kar said early in the morning, Bhoi went to the nearby forest to answer the call of nature. He encountered a lone tusker which has been moving in the Joranda beat section for the last several days. The elephant attacked Bhoi, killing him on the spot.
Later in the morning, some villagers spotted Bhoi’s body lying in the forest. On being informed, forest staff reached the spot and sent the body for postmortem.
The DFO said villagers have been repeatedly warned not to venture into the forest during early morning and after sundown. However, some villagers are not paying heed to the warnings.
Meanwhile, a tusker was found dead in Khariapalli forest under Barbara section of Balugaon forest range in Khurda district on the day.
Forest staff spotted the carcass and informed Khurda DFO P Purnima who rushed to the spot. Sources said the tusker was aged around 25 to 30 years.
DFO Purnima said postmortem was conducted and the exact reason behind the elephant’s death can be ascertained after the autopsy report arrives.