Elephant attack leaves 2 people dead in Chhattisgarh's Surajpur

Two persons were trampled to death by an elephant in separate places in Devnagar village in Chhattisgarh's Surajpur district, an official said Monday. In an incident that took place Sunday in Badkapara locality of the village, a woman identified as Chandarmani Singh (25) was killed by the tusker at a relative's vegetable farm, Divisional Forest Officer (Surajpur division) BP Singh said. Later, a motorcycle-borne man identified as Tejram Rajwade (45) was trampled to death by this elephant in Kumharpara locality in the village, he added.

"The elephant has ventured into Surjapur area from neighbouring Koriya district. There is no forest close to Devnagar village and, therefore, forest personnel are facing difficulty chasing it away. We are also looking at the option of tranquilising the elephant and leaving it in any nearby forest," Singh said. The bodies have been sent for post mortem and the kin of the deceased have been given Rs 25,000 as immediate relief, he added.

He informed that four people have been killed by elephants in Surajpur district in separate incidents in the past four days. The thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Koriya districts, have witnessed several human-elephant conflicts, officials said.

(With inputs from agencies.)