ANGUL: Two persons were reportedly trampled to death by a lone tusker in separate incidents under the Angul forest division on Thursday night.
The deceased were identified as Guru Naik (18) of Saradhapur village under Angul forest range and Ainthu Pradhan (60) of Chheliapada in the Bantala range.
Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Angul Vivek Kumar said the tusker entered human settlements on Thursday night after getting separated from its herd. At around 8 pm, the elephant trampled Guru when he was standing in the middle of the village road. Guru died on the spot. Subsequently, the jumbo entered Chheliapada and attacked Ainthu who was returning home. He too was killed instantly.
Following the deaths, tension flared up in both villages as locals demanded the erection of solar fencing to prevent the entry of elephants into human habitations. The irate villagers were pacified after forest officials assured to of fulfil the demand.
The DFO said bodies of the deceased were sent to the local hospital for postmortem and adequate compensation will be paid to the bereaved families. Efforts are underway to drive away the tusker. Forest guards are keeping a close watch on its movements, Kumar added.