BARIPADA: Taunting elephants proved costly for a group of villagers in Mayurbhanj after an irritated tusker trampled a man and injured two others in Badasahi area on Thursday afternoon, triggering panic as well as tension.
The incident occurred when the locals teased a herd of elephants despite repeated warnings from the Forest department to stay away.
The tragedy unfolded around 2.30 pm when a group of villagers approached the herd and began pelting stones at the elephants. Angered by the provocation, a tusker charged at the crowd, and caught Dillip Singh and two others who failed to escape in time.
According to forest officials, the herd of 43 elephants including calves and females had entered the Badashai section under Baripada forest range early Thursday after spending four days in Udala range. To ensure public safety, the Forest department had issued warnings through loudspeaker announcements, urging residents to avoid the area.
Despite these efforts, hundreds of villagers gathered to witness the elephants and began harassing the animals. Forest personnel on-site repeatedly appealed to the crowd to maintain a safe distance, but their warnings were ignored. A tusker charged at the crowd after being hit by stones, leading to this unfortunate incident.
The deceased, 35-year-old Dillip Singh of Dhanpota village was trampled to death on the spot. The injured, also residents of Dhanpota, were rushed to Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital in Baripada as their condition deteriorated.
The herd, reportedly migrating from Jharkhand, has been creating havoc in Baripada, Rasgovindpur, Suliapada, Udala and Betnoti ranges for months, crossing state borders from Jharkhand to West Bengal and into Odisha. Divisional forest officer
A Uma Mahesh directed forest rangers to provide compensation to Dillip’s family. Police registered a case of unnatural death and seized the body for postmortem.
Following the incident, fear has gripped residents of Dhanpota and nearby villages as the elephant herd continues to roam in the locality.