Balishankara: A tusker from Chhattisgarh went on rampage as it trampled a 70-year old man to death and destroyed three houses along with paddy crops of villagers under Kinjirkela forest section and Ujjawalpur forest range in Sundargarh district, late Tuesday night.
The deceased was identified as Dharo Barla in Deobhubanpur village. Barla was sleeping on the verandah of his house when the tusker picked him on its trunk and crushed him to death.
On being informed, Kinjirkela forester Aswini Kumar Patel reached the spot and gave Rs 5,000 compensation to the bereaved family for performing his last rites. Kinjirkela police registered a case and handed over the body to his family members after postmortem.
Forest officials said the tusker driven out of its herd first strayed into Brahmanmara Kendudihi village on the fringes of Chhattisgarh and destroyed houses and stored paddy crops of villagers.
Affected persons included Rajendra Xalco, Nagu Barla and Nagu Barla in the village. Later, it strayed into nearby Deobhubanpur village Tuesday night and battered Barla to death. Villagers stayed awake all the night and managed to drive away the tusker. The villagers have demanded immediate financial assistance to the bereaved family.