Jumbo tramples octogenarian villager to death in Chandil

JAMSHEDPUR: An 87-year-old villager, identified as Shyam Gope, was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Heyvan village under Nimdih police station area, about 50km from here early on Wednesday. The incident happened under Chandil forest range, said Chandil forest ranger, Shashi Prakash Ranjan.
The villager had gone to the field to attend nature's call.On confronting the tusker suddenly, the old man tried to run away but could not escape the fury of the jumbo, locals told the forester.
Further, the ranger said that three villagers have been killed in elephant attack in the forest range in the past four months. In this incident, the tusker got separated from the herd and since the past three days he is randomly moving from one place to another in search of food and water. In the course of the search for food, the elephant has destroyed standing paddy crops and also damaged thatched houses. The ranger said that the separated tusker has come from the forest area of neighbouring Tamar. Fire crackers worth of Rs 4 lakh have also been distributed among the villagers to drive away the elephant.