Rajgangpur: An elephant crushed a 54-year-old man to death while he was taking a selfie with the animal which had strayed into the village Saturday afternoon.
The incident occurred at Mandiakudar under Kansabahal police station limits in Sundargarh district. The deceased has been identified as Ashok Bharati of Bidanasi in Cuttack who was working at a tar factory at Sagajoro near Mandiakudara.
Some villagers spotted the elephant in a paddy field at the rear side of Purusottam Engineering College here. As the news of the pachyderm spread, several villagers reached the paddy field to have a glimpse of the animal. Meanwhile, some pranksters indulged in throwing stones at the elephant while others began using their mobile phones to take selfies with it. Ashok Bharati was also taking selfie with the jumbo.
But suddenly, the animal turned around and caught him with its trunk and slammed him on the ground. He was immediately rushed to the hospital where doctors pronounced him ‘‘brought dead’’. Forest officials and IIC of Kansabahal police seized the body and sent it for post-mortem.