An elderly woman was trampled to death by a tusker at a forest in Jharkhand's Simdega district on Thursday evening, officials said.
Simdega Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Shashank Shekhar Singh told PTI that a tusker who had strayed away from the elephant herd had trampled to death Jamuna Pradhan (78), a native of the Kodurmunda Bhukhan Toli in Bolba forest range.
"As per reports, Jamuna Pradhan had gone after lunch to the remote forest to cut grass to make a bonfire in the evening in view of the cold weather. During this, she encountered a herd of wild elephants. Due to old age, she could not flee and was trampled by one of the elephants, a tusker which had strayed away from the herd of nearly 20 elephants," the DFO said.
"We are trying to process the documentation for compensation in such cases (death caused by elephant attack). As per the government provision, her family members would receive Rs 4 lakh. We are tracking the movement of the elephants," the DFO added.
Upon receiving the information, Forest department officials arrived at the scene along with Bolba police station officer-in-charge, Devidas Murmu and reached the forest area and sent the body for post mortem at Sadar Hospital in Simdega.
Police officials said that a herd of wild elephants is currently roaming the Bolba forests, creating an atmosphere of fear among the villagers.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
