Couple trampled to death by elephants in Dhenkanal

Dhenkanal: A herd of elephants today trampled a couple to death inside a cashew orchard in Kateni area under Sadar Forest Range of Dhenkanal.

As per sources, the couple, identified as Dambaru Pradhan & his wife Sukanti Pradhan, was returning from Dudhukateni village in the wee hours of today when they came in way of a herd of wild elephants while passing through the cashew orchard on their way to Chauliya village. While Sukanti died on the spot, locals rushed Dambaru to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

A relative of the deceased couple, Madhusudan Sahu said, “People in our area remain under panic even while stepping out of their homes.”

Manwar Khan, range officer, Dhenkanal said, “The Forest department always remains alert and last night our staff had even chased a herd of elephants at around 1:30 AM and returned back when the herd went out of sight. The incident that occurred today is certainly a huge loss for the family.”