BALASORE: A two-year-old boy died and his twin brother suffered injuries after an elephant reportedly knocked down a wall of their thatched house in Kendukhunta village under Jaleswar forest range of Balasore district in the wee hours of Tuesday.
The deceased toddler was identified as Ram Besra, son of Uddhav Besra of Kendukhunta under Khuard panchayat within Raibania police limits.
Sources said Uddhav, his wife Chari and their five children were sleeping in their house. At around 1 am, a tusker reportedly tried to reach the paddy stored inside the house by inserting its trunk through a gap between the roof and the walls.
Suddenly, one of the walls collapsed, trapping Uddhav’s twin sons Ram and Lakshman under the debris. While Lakshman was rescued by his parents, Ram was killed on the spot. While leaving the village, the tusker also damaged a cabin at Luhapada chowk.
After receiving information, local forest personnel rushed to Kendukhunta on Tuesday morning to take stock of the situation. Raibania police also reached the village for investigation.
Assistant conservator of forests (ACF), Balasore Diganta Sovan Chand said the deceased’s family will get a compensation of `10 lakh. Initially, `1 lakh will be provided by the Forest department. The remaining amount will be disbursed after receiving the postmortem report and other necessary documents.
The ACF informed that the tusker is currently roaming in Luhapada forest. Local forest officials are closely monitoring its movements.
Police said the deceased’s body was seized for postmortem. An unnatural death case has been registered in connection with the incident and further investigation is underway.
Villagers alleged that the toddler was killed due to the negligence of the Forest department. On Monday night, local forest officials alerted the locals about the tusker’s presence in the area through WhatsApp. But many villagers, who do not have smartphones, were not aware of the elephant. “The Forest department should have sent some staff to the village to caution all the residents and keep a watch on the tusker’s movements,” they said.
ELDERLY MAN TRAMPLED TO DEATH
Berhampur: The body of an elderly man, reportedly trampled to death by an elephant, was recovered from North Ghumusur forests near Baibili village in Ganjam district on Monday. The deceased was identified as 65-year-old Krupasindhu Swain of Baibili under Bhanjanagar police limits. Villagers said Swain had to gone to the nearby forest to graze his cattle when he was attacked by an elephant.
Some passersby spotted him lying unconscious and raised an alarm following which family members reached the spot. Swain was taken to Bhanjanagar sub-divisional hospital where he was declared brought dead. Bhanjanagar IIC Jibanananda Jena said Swain’s family lodged a complaint with police on basis of which a case has been registered. The deceased body was handed over to his family on Tuesday after postmortem.