Tusker Tramples Three of Family in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur, Neighbour Also Dies

A wild elephant killed at least four people, including a man, his brother, daughter and neighbour. The tusker attacked their home late at night, trampling the family members and killing the neighbour, who came to their aid. The forest department is planning to relocate the tusker to prevent further incidents.

Jashpur (Chhattisgarh): Tragedy struck Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district early Saturday morning when a wild elephant claimed the lives of four people, including three of a family. The deceased include Rameshwar Soni (35), daughter Ravita (9), brother Ajay Soni (25) and neighbour Ashwin Kujur (28).

The incident occurred in Bagcha Nagar panchayat at 1 am when the tusker, which had strayed into the village, attacked a house on the roadside. The elephant first damaged the wall of Rameshwar Soni's residence before attacking the family members sleeping inside.

Rameshwar, his daughter Ravita and Ajay were trampled to death. Hearing their screams, neighbour Ashwin rushed to the scene and was also attacked by the elephant. Residents reported that the lack of lighting in the area made it difficult to detect and avoid the elephant. The incident has sparked significant fear and mourning in the village. Authorities and local forest staff responded promptly, arriving at the scene and sending the bodies for post-mortem.

The families of the victims have been given an immediate relief of Rs 25,000 each with additional compensation of Rs 5.75 lakhs to follow the completion of formalities. Divisional Forest Officer Jitendra Upadhyay confirmed the incident and noted that this particular tusker has developed destructive behaviour having previously damaged several homes. Plans are underway to relocate the elephant to prevent further attacks, following orders from higher authorities.

The latest attack is part of a troubling trend in the Jashpur district where at least nine people have been killed in elephant attacks in the past month alone. On Thursday, three women were killed by elephants in the Korba district, highlighting a broader issue of human-elephant conflict in the state. In the past five years, around 310 people have lost their lives in such incidents across Chhattisgarh.

The forest department has been actively monitoring elephant movements and working to mitigate the risks associated with human-elephant interaction in the region.