Elderly couple trampled to death by elephant in J'khand

An elderly couple was trampled to death by an elephant in Jharkhands Hazaribag district on Thursday, an official said.The incident occurred in Bedmakki village under the Chalkusha police station limits when the jumbo attacked Vedlal Pandit 65 and his wife Shanti Devi 60, Forest Range Officer Annand Kumar Singh said.

An elderly couple was trampled to death by an elephant in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district on Thursday, an official said.

The incident occurred in Bedmakki village under the Chalkusha police station limits when the jumbo attacked Vedlal Pandit (65) and his wife Shanti Devi (60), Forest Range Officer Annand Kumar Singh said. The couple was working in a field when the incident happened. The jumbo got separated from a herd of 13 elephants, the official said.

Vedlal was killed on the spot while Shanti Devi succumbed to her injuries on the way to a hospital, he said. The bodies have been sent to Hazaribag Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination. Singh and other officials of the forest department handed over an ex gratia of Rs 50,000 to the next of kin of each deceased.