Latehar (Jharkhand): Three members of a family were trampled to death by a herd of elephants in Jharkhand's Latehar district on Thursday night. The herd of wild elephants invaded a brick kiln unit at Malhan panchayat in the Chandwa police station area of the district on Thursday night.
The wild pachyderms uprooted a thatched house where the brick kiln labourer Phanu Bhuiyan, his wife Babita Devi and three-year-old daughter were sleeping. The elephants trampled them to death. Before retreating to the forest, the elephants ran amok and completely ransacked the brick kiln unit. Other labourers at the brick kiln unit somehow managed to flee from the spot. The deceased were the residents of Garhwa district in the state.
An eyewitness who was also working as a labourer, said, "A herd of 12 elephants from nowhere suddenly appeared at the spot. Before we could understand what was happening. The wild beast caught hold of the victims in its trunk and began banging them on the ground. The elephants also tramped the victims with their feet."
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After the incident, the people of the area were on the boil. Upon receiving information, police rushed to the spot and sent the bodies to a hospital. A team of forest department officials also visited the spot to investigate the incident. Forest officials said that the deceased's kin will be given compensation by the department. Besides, a team of wildlife experts will be called in to drive away elephants from the area. Villagers said, "We are spending sleepless nights or living in constant fear because wild elephants have created havoc in the region for the past several months. If it does not stop then we will be forced to leave our dwellings."
