Wild jumbos trample tribal to death in Chhattisgarh

Wild elephants trampled a villager to death in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district, officials said.

Wild elephants trampled a villager to death in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district, officials said on Thursday.

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Wild elephants killed Budhnath Ram, 52, in a forested hamlet in Jashpur district on Wednesday when he was returning from the forest to his village, Khutapani-Dumartoli.

Villagers held forest officials responsible for the killing as they claim to have alerted the officials a week ago about possible attacks by wild elephants which had sneaked into civilians' pockets from nearby thickly forested areas.

A local forest official, R.K. Sisodia, said the forest department will be making arrangements to chase the tuskers deep into the forest. He said the government will pay compensation to the family of the deceased.

Dozens of villages in Surguja, Jashpur, Koria, Korba and Raigarh districts in northern Chhattisgarh have been affected by elephant attacks for more than a decade.

Attacks on humans by elephants have increased since 2005 and dozens of people have been killed. Officials said encroachment by people into the elephant habitat has caused more conflicts.