Tension was triggered in the Sarangi Forest Range area of the district on Tuesday night as locals ransacked the range office and torched some vehicles after the death of a person of the locality in an elephant attack.
One Krushna Pradhan (45) of Sarangi village died after being attacked by an elephant. Irate locals then stormed into the Sarangi Forest Range office and damaged many articles.
The mob also set two motorcycles on fire and vandalised an SUV. They later staged a road blockade by burning tyres.
Later, Sarangi Forest Ranger Ashok Bhanja lodged a complaint with the Gondia police over the violence by locals.
Acting on the complaint, police have arrested three persons and forwarded them to court.
Rs 40,000 was provided to the family of the deceased by the Forest Department for the last rites.
The elephant would be tranquilised and shifted to a different place, the Ranger said.