Wild tusker kills one more, damages 3 houses in Pakur

RANCHI: A wild elephant trampled a 45-year-old man to death and damaged three houses at Kopa village in Littipara block of Pakur district late on Saturday night, officials said on Sunday. A week ago, the tusker killed another man in Amrapara block of the district.

The deceased was identified as Gabriel Malto. “A wild elephant, separated from its herd, has been roaming between Littipara and Amrapara blocks of the district for past one week. It killed another person a week back in Amrapara,” forest range officer of Hiranpur, Kamlesh Singh said.

According to available information, Malto woke up past midnight after hearing an unusual sound coming out of his house. When he went out of his house to check, the wild elephant attacked him and trampled him to death, Malto’s family members said.

After killing Gabriel, the elephant also damaged his house. His wife and three children anyhow ran away to protect themselves from the crumbling house, said Robert Malto, a relative of Gabriel.

Robert said the animal also damaged two other houses in the village. “We are living in panic. Every family in the village is spending each night in fear. The forest department should take immediate action to chase away the elephant from the area,” he said.

“Forest patrolling team returned from their daily duty around 2am. I believe the incident took place after that. The villagers were alerted about the elephant’s movement in the area and cautioned against coming out of their houses after evening,” Singh said.

He said the bereaved family will be given compensation of ₹4 lakh as per government rules. “We are giving a part of it so that the family can perform his last rites,” Singh said.

Following the incident, the forest department deputed a quick response team to drive out the elephant to the forest. “The jumbo has lost its track. Frequent chases by villagers are also irritating it,” Singh said.