Surajpur/Surguja, Nov 12 (PTI) A 45-year-old woman was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Surajpur district, taking the toll in attacks by the same jumbo to 16 in Surajpur and adjoining Balrampur districts over the past six to seven months, forest officials said on Thursday.
The forest department has given approval for radio-collaring the solitary male tusker, locally known among people as 'Kabra Kaan' because of its patchy ears, which has frequently attacked people in the two districts, they said.
The latest attack took place in Umeshwarpur village in the Premnagar area, where a local woman resident, identified only as Dilaso, was killed by the elephant on late Wednesday night, a forest department official said.
According to preliminary information, the elephant was spotted in the area around 11 pm.
Sensing the danger, Dilaso stepped out of her house along with her husband and son to alert neighbours about the animal's presence. While her husband moved ahead and son stayed behind to close the house door, the woman suddenly came face to face with the elephant and was trampled to death, the official said.
A team of forest department personnel reached the spot after being alerted and sent the body for post-mortem examination, he added.
The rogue pachyderm then entered into the Udaipur forest area of Surguja district where forest personnel have been continuously monitoring its movement, he stated.
The same elephant had killed two men in separate incidents on the night of November 8 and another man on Monday in Surajpur, the official said.
The forest department had earlier sought permission from higher authorities to tranquilise and capture the elephant. The state's Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) has now granted approval to tranquilise the animal and fit it with a satellite radio collar to track its movements and prevent further attacks, officials said.
According to the order, the elephant has been roaming across forest areas falling under Pratappur, Ghui, Surajpur, Rajpur, Ambikapur and Tamor Pingla ranges, posing a serious threat to human life and property.
The Divisional Forest Officers of Surajpur and Balrampur have been jointly appointed as nodal officers to oversee the operation. The exercise will be carried out under the supervision of senior forest officials with the assistance of veterinary doctors and in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Union government and the Wildlife Institute of India, it said.
The order also provides for the use of trained captive elephants (kumki) if required during the operation to tranquilise the tusker and install a radio collar to track its movements.
After radio-collaring and a health examination, the animal will be released into its natural habitat if found healthy. Its movements will subsequently be monitored regularly, with reports to be submitted to the authorities every 15 days, the order said.
Talking to PTI over phone on Thursday, Chief Conservator of Forest (Surguja circle) Dilraj Prabhakar said the elephant will be captured within next four days for fitting radio collar.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)