Bhubaneswar: In a tragic incident, a wild tusker trampled to death three members of a family and injured as many while they were asleep outside their house.
The incident took place Monday night in Saldiha village under Paikmal forest range in Odisha’s Bargarh district.
According to sources, the wild tusker attacked the family members of one Bipin Bariha who were sleeping in the backyard of their house due to extreme humid conditions.
The wild tusker trampled to death Bipin’s wife and their two children, a three-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter and injured three others -- Bipin, his mother and a seven-year-old boy.
The incident has sent shock waves in the village.
Forest officials rushed to the village on being informed by the villagers.
There has been strong resentment among the villagers against the forest personnel as the latter did not take any initiatives to chase away a herd of elephants seen moving in the nearby village a few days back.
In another incident, a herd of 27 elephants from Jharkhand has caused havoc and panic for the last three days among the residents in five villages under Karanjia block in Mayurbhanj district.
The villagers have alleged that the herd had destroyed the standing crops and were roaming freely in the nearby forest.
The angry villagers have driven away the herd to Badadeuli forest. The Forest department officials are keeping a close watch and monitoring the movement of the herd.