Sundargarh, Dec 22: In yet another incident of human-animal conflict, a man was trampled to death by a tusker in the Bonai range limits of Odisha’s Sundargarh district on Saturday.
The incident took place at Rugudi Sahi area in Jakeikela panchayat under the Bonai range when the deceased, identified as Dharani Dhar Patra (40) was stepping out of his house to attend to nature’s call. Thereafter, the tusker trampled him near his doorstep leading to his death on the spot.
Following this, tension prevailed in the locality as locals demanded compensation. As of the latest reports, no additional updates or comments have been received from forest officials or the police.
Notably, the elephant attack adds to the growing number of casualties from human-elephant conflicts in the district. Over the past 15 days, four people have been killed in separate elephant attacks across three ranges of the Bonai Division, and one person remains critically injured and is currently under treatment.
Earlier last month, Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia said in the state assembly that human-elephant conflicts in Odisha have been increasing. He further revealed that over the past three years, 668 people were killed and 509 were injured in elephant attacks in the state.
