A 40 year- old person was trampled to death allegedly by a wild elephant at Sailayapahri village under the Berdonga panchayat in Giridih district here on Wednesday night.
The deceased was identified Ritlal Das belonging to Sailayapahri village in Giridih district .The body was found inside bush beside a forest path under the Pramanikdih rang at about 11 pm ,nearly ½ km away from his house. It was suspected that the incident occurred in-between 9 pm to 11on Wednesday when he was sleeping inside the home. A herd of wild elephants has spread panic among residents, damaging at least ten their houses and food iteams and forcing them to flee, sources said.
While someone said that we sleep on the tree to protect ourselves from the elelphants .We take children also along with us and all the women sleep together at one place .It is very difficult to manage in the afternoon and night .We stand guard together in the night ,they said .They added that there has been no help from the local administration or forest officials so far ,and they had to fend for themselves . According to reports, the victim was attacked by a group of wild elephants at around at 11am on Wednesday while he was sleeping inside his house .Ritlal Das died as he sustained severe injuries on his head and hand, reports added. Footprints on the scene indicate that a herd of elephants has ventured into the human habitation after crossing a nearby hill.
local MlA Jai Prakash Verma visited the village later in the day and interacted with the villagers and also gave Rs 20,000 to the victim family .While forest official said that compensation had been recommended to all four families in Giridih whose houses were damaged in month .Forest officials and police have started a probe into the incident.