A woman was killed and her two sons sustained injuries during an alleged tusker attack in the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary on Saturday.
However, the Forest Department is awaiting the postmortem report to determine whether the death of the 45-year-old woman on the Bichhiya–Mihipurwa road was caused by a tusker elephant attack or resulted from an accident.
Munni Devi (45), a resident of Paras Purva village in Lakhimpur Kheri district, was returning from Khalepurwa village with her two sons, Karan (17) and Arjun (15), after seeking medical treatment. Between Nishangarh and Bichhiya, a tusker allegedly attacked them when their motorcycle slowed down. Local residents rushed the injured to a private doctor in Bichhiya, where Munni Devi was declared dead while Karan and Arjun sustained injuries to their hands and other parts of the body.
On being informed, forest ranger officer (RFO) Nishangarah Surendra Kumar Srivastava and RFO Katarniaghat Ashish Gaur visited the spot. Both the officials while talking to HT said it was not yet confirmed whether the incident was caused by a tusker or it was just an accident.
Talking to HT on Sunday, divisional forest officer (DFO) Apoorv Dixit said the exact cause of death has not yet been established. The incident occurred on a Public Works Department (PWD) road passing through the core area of the sanctuary, which remains isolated and prone to wildlife movement.
{{/usCountry}}Talking to HT on Sunday, divisional forest officer (DFO) Apoorv Dixit said the exact cause of death has not yet been established. The incident occurred on a Public Works Department (PWD) road passing through the core area of the sanctuary, which remains isolated and prone to wildlife movement.
{{/usCountry}}“Prima facie examination of the motorcycle and the woman’s body does not conclusively indicate a tusker attack. In typical elephant attacks, severe bone crushing and lung punctures are observed, but such clear evidence has not been found so far,” Dixit stated.
He added that the forest department is awaiting the postmortem report to determine whether the woman died due to a tusker attack or from injuries sustained in a fall, possibly caused by panic after encountering the elephant. The department is also contacting the doctor who had treated the victim earlier to gather additional information.
Dixit emphasized that compensation cannot be processed until the cause of death is officially confirmed.
He further appealed the commuters to exercise extreme caution while travelling through forest areas, especially in zones known for elephant movement.