BALASORE: An elephant, in search of food, trampled a 45-year-old man to death and damaged three houses in Banida village in the Jaleswar wildlife range of Balasore division early on Friday.
The deceased, Suryakant Barik was mentally challenged. He was initially taken to Jaleswar community health centre and later shifted to Fakir Mohan Medical College as his condition deteriorated, where doctors declared him dead.
The tusker which had been roaming near Ulmora area for several days entered Barik Sahi ward no 13 of Banida village under Sugo Panchayat on Thursday night. The incident occurred during early hours when Suryakant had an encounter with the elephant while roaming on the village road. The tusker trampled and tossed him to the roadside causing severe injuries.
Villagers attempted to drive away the animal by beating drums after which it moved to another side of the village. On its way, the tusker damaged the houses of Basanta Barik, Ananta Barik, and Bijay Patra while searching for food.
When Forest personnel reached the village to take stock of the situation, villagers gathered and sought assistance to drive the tusker away from the human settlement. The elephant eventually moved out of the village and was last seen roaming in an orchard nearby the village. Official sources said that a team of forest staff were at the spot and kept watch on the movement of the tusker. Police also registered a case.
Balasore DFO Khushwant Singh said, the first tranche of compensation, amounting to 10 per cent of the total payout, has already been sanctioned to the kin of the deceased and rest will be provided after some official formalities.