Keonjhar: Two people were killed and another injured in separate elephant attacks in Keonjhar district Saturday, forest officials said.
The deceased were identified as Duryodhan Pradhan, 41, of Nilambaradihi village under Banspal block, and Manjulata Nath, 55, of Fakirpur village under Anandapur police limits. Pradhan, a daily wage labourer, had travelled to Shuakati for some work Friday.
While returning home on foot in the evening, he reportedly encountered an elephant in the Dau la forest and was trampled to death. After he failed to return home, family members alerted forest officials, who recovered his body during a search operation Saturday.
The body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem examination. Forest officials provided Rs 100,000 as immediate assistance to Pradhan’s family and said the remaining compensation would be released shortly. In a separate incident, Nath was killed while collecting mangoes in her orchard at Ka jalei in Fakirpur village Saturday morning.
Villagers had earlier noticed elephant movement in the area and, with the help of forest personnel, attempted to drive the animal away. When Nath did not return home, family members searched for her and found her body in the orchard.
Forest officials recovered the body and handed it over to the family after a post-mortem. Another villager, Yasoda Mallik, was injured in an elephant attack while collecting mangoes. She was rescued by forest personnel and shifted to a hospital in Cuttack for treatment. Officials said government assistance would be provided to Nath’s family.