Two women among five trampled to death by wild elephants in Jharkhand

    Ramgarh/Ranchi, Dec 17 (PTI) Five people, including two women, were trampled to death by wild elephants in separate incidents in Jharkhand over the past 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday.
    In Ramgarh district, four people died in a forest area in Mandu Block, while a 36-year-old person was killed at Jidu village in Ranchi’s Angara, on Tuesday night, they said.
    “Two quick response teams (QRTs) and forest guards are tracking the movement of elephant herds in the area,” said Nitish Kumar, Divisional Forest Officer, Ramgarh.
    The deceased have been identified as Sanicharwa Munda (36), Amul Mahto (35), Kaniya Devi (85), Savitri Devi (65) and Amit Kumar Rajwar (32).
    Rajwar was trampled to death on Tuesday afternoon in Ramgarh when he approached a herd of eight wild elephants to capture a video and take selfies. He was a security guard in Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), Kumar said.
    As many as 42 jumbos, divided in herds, are roaming the forests along the border areas of Ramgarh and Bokaro districts, he said.
    Meanwhile, hundreds of villagers staged a blockade on the the New More-West Bokaro Road, demanding compensation and adequate security measures to prevent such elephant attacks.
    Gautam Kumar Rajwar, officer-in-charge of Angara police station, said two injured, including a woman, are being treated in hospital.
    They have been identified as Raveena Kumari and Kamal Nath Mahato.
    Nitin Gupta, forest guard in-charge of Angara, said the family of the deceased were provided an immediate relief of Rs 25,000, and further compensation will be extended after completion of official procedures.
    In Jharkhand, a compensation of Rs 4 lakh is provided in case of death due to an elephant attack, as per rules.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)