Three villagers were killed by a wild tusker in Dumuria panchayat of Keonjhar district on Saturday night. According to sources, Gopobandhu Giri (47) was killed by the elephant while he was sleeping outside near his house at Chakulia village at around 10 pm. Before he could protect himself, the jumbo hurled him in his trunk and smashed him on the ground where he died on the spot.
After this, the tusker entered the house of Purna Chandra Mahanta (68) at adjacent Sitarampur village. Hearing the noise in his backyard, Purna came out of the house with his torchlight and encountered the intruding jumbo, which crushed him to death. The elephant’s immediate next target was Purna’s wife Abanti (58), who had followed her husband to the backyard. The rogue animal also crushed her under his feet to death before leaving the village in the darkness.
Tension gripped the area after the death of the three villagers came to light in the morning. The villagers accused the Nesco authorities for regular power cuts in the night providing unhindered movements of elephants in the human settlements. Besides, the Forest Department never keeps a track of the elephants’ movements and hardly cautions the villagers before the dreaded animals approach their villages, they complain.
After the Saturday night tragedies, the Baria police and forest officials reached the spot for an investigation. Compensation to the deceased’s families would be paid by the Forest Department soon, the Assistant Conservator of Forest assured villagers.