5 killed in elephant attack in Jharkhand’s Lohardaga in last 24 hours

Lohardaga district forest officer (DFO) Arvind Kumar said four out of the five were killed on Monday in Kashpur village under Bhandra block, while one was trampled to death near Kuru on Sunday evening

Updated on: Feb 20, 2023, 18:28:06 IST

By Vishal Kant

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At least five people in two separate incidents were killed in an elephant attack in Jharkhand’s Lohardaga district in the past 24 hours, forest officials said on Monday.

Forest officer said said it is almost certain that the same elephant is behind the five killings (Representative Photo)

Lohardaga district forest officer (DFO) Arvind Kumar said four out of the five were killed on Monday in Kashpur village under Bhandra block, while one was trampled to death by the jumbo near Kuru on Sunday evening.

“Three villagers were killed Monday morning while one was killed around 3pm in Kashpur,” added Kumar.

Also Read: 35-year-old ailing elephant ‘Moti’ breathes his last

The officer said it is almost certain that the same elephant is behind all the five killings in the district since Sunday evening.

Kumar said, as per the preliminary findings, the elephant entered the Kuru area from Latehar district on Sunday and killed one person. It later entered the Bhandar area from there and attacked anyone who came in the way, he added.

“We are making efforts to drive the elephant towards the forest,” said Kumar.

The DFO said all bodies were sent for post-mortem examination, adding that an immediate relief of ₹25,000 each will be provided to the kins of the deceased.

Further, ₹3.75 lakh compensation to the kin of each of the victims will be provided after they are sanctioned as per the government procedures, the DFO said.

Kumar said that apart from one incident of an elephant attack that took place three years ago, there has not been a single such incident in Lohardaga since he was posted as the forest officer two years ago.

Also Read: Army jawan killed in wild elephant attack in Guwahati

“People here are not habituated to dealing with elephants. They go close to the animal in their excitement,” Kumar said.

“However, we are making people aware not to disturb the animal and trying to drive it away in the forest,” Kumar added.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishal Kant
Stationed in Ranchi, Vishal is heading the Jharkhand Bureau of Hindustan Times since November 2017. Besides leading the reporting team, Vishal tracks and writes on developments related to the state politics, economy and policy matters in Jharkhand. Prior to his current assignment, Vishal used to work in New Delhi after graduating from the University of Delhi. Vishal joined HT in the rank of Assistant Editor in August 2015 and was part of the Delhi Metro Bureau, covering a host of issues in the City-state including politics, policy---especially those related to urban traffic & transport infrastructure and railways. A native of Palamu district in Jharkhand, Vishal started his two-decade long career in the mainstream media in 2006. During this period, he has has worked in different capacity with a number of national media houses including the Financial Chronicle, India Today, Deccan Herald and The Hindu, before moving to the Hindustan Times. He holds the experience of having worked in three major mediums of mass communication--Print, Electronic and Digital. He is a proud father of two daughters.Read More

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