ANGUL: A 40-year-old man was trampled to death by two elephants in Bantala forest range here on Friday. He was identified as Sudam Pradhan of Bargonia village. Another man who was near the spot was also chased by the jumbos but escaped narrowly.
Sources said that Sudam had gone to the forest to collect mangoes.With this, the number of lives lost in elephant attack in the range in the last two months rose to four. On Wednesday night, a resident of Handappa died after being attacked by a jumbo.
The victim, Basant Naik (35), was going to Baghuapote village for some work when he encountered a herd of elephant in the nearby forest. He was attacked by an elephant and sustained serious injuries. He later succumbed in Angul hospital.
In May, Dusmanta Behera (31) of Talagarh and Pramila Biswal (40) of Kantamegha village were killed by elephants when they had gone inside the forest to graze goats and collect mangoes respectively.
The frequent attacks by pachyderms triggered resentment among local villagers who demanded immediate steps to chase away the herd creating havoc in the area. "Panic has spread among villagers as the elephant herd has taken four lives in the area. The Forest department should drive away the herd as soon as possible," said Pabitra Pradhan, a local.
However, Forest officials said elephants did not enter any human habitations and all the mishaps took place inside forests. Angul DFO V Kartik said despite repeated warnings, villagers continue to venture into the forest.
Man trampled to death
SAMBALPUR: A 47-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant near Nua Barangamal village within Jujumura police limits here on Thursday night. The body of the victim, Indrajit Sandha, was spotted by villagers on Friday morning.
Sources said Indrajit was returning to his village from nearby Kulsar on a bicycle when the elephant attacked him killing him on the spot. On being informed, Forest officials rushed to the spot. Indrajit’s body was handed over to his family after autopsy.