Woman trampled to death by tusker in Keonjhar

Keonjhar: In yet another incident of elephant attack, a woman was trampled to death by a tusker at Sijukala village under Champua forest range in Keonjhar district this morning.

The deceased was identified as Laly Mohanty, wife of Ramesh Mohanty of Sijukala village. When Laly had gone to the backyard of her house to attend to nature's call, a tusker suddenly came on her way. The tusker later lifted her with its trunk and thrashed her on the ground. Later, some locals and forest officials admitted her to the district headquarters hospital (DHH), where doctors declared her dead.

Balibandha Forester Dillip Kumar Sahu said, “Like everyday, squads had gone to carry out elephant drive-away operation. One of my staff called me and informed me about the incident.”

The State government would provide Rs 3 lakh compensation to the family members of the deceased while the forest department would give Rs 10,000 for conduct of the last rites.