Tusker menace returned to haunt villagers as a 60-year-old man was trampled to death by an elephant deep inside the Dalma wildlife sanctuary on Thursday at late night. The elephant attacked Gopal Singh Sardar, a resident of Bandih village, while he was asleep alone inside a jungle. He died on the spot.
According to Dalma range officer R P Singh, who reached the spot located around 50 km from Jamshedpur on Friday morning, said Sardar was not staying at his house in Bandih as he had strained relations with his family. “He used to come to his house for food but later stopped meeting his family. The victim used to sleep on a cot,” he added.
Some of the elephants have already arrived at the sanctuary after their annual home coming from the jungles of West Midnapore and Bankura in neighbouring Bengal. “We are investigating the incident.The elephant must have seen Sardar sleeping and trampled him to death. Villagers should be aware about their safety as they know that elephants venture out in the night,” Singh said.
The range officer said they have handed over `20,000 to the family for performing the last rites. “A compensation of `2.5 lakh would also be given to Sardar’s family after completing the formalities,” he added.