Ramgarh: Two women were trampled to death by elephants in separate incidents under the Rajrappa police station limits of Ramgarh district on Monday, forest department officials said.Divisional forest officer (DFO) Nitish Kumar said, “Dhano Devi (37), a resident of Barkipona village, and Sabina Khatoon (60) of Rajrappa colony were killed in attacks by roaming elephant herds.”“A herd of 44 elephants, split into two groups, was moving through forest areas in the district. One herd strayed into the Rajrappa colony area, where it trampled Sabina to death. The elephants then crossed the Ramgarh-Bokaro national highway and moved towards nearby forest patches,” he added.In another incident, a herd of around 12 elephants entered agricultural fields located beside the highway in Barkipona village and damaged crops. Dhano, who was working in her field near her house, was caught in the herd’s path and trampled to death, officials said.The forest department and district administration have sounded an alert in Gola, Chitarpur, and Dulmi blocks. A quick response team (QRT) equipped with drums, firecrackers, and fire torches has been deployed to monitor the movement of the elephants and drive them away from human habitations. “The herds are being tracked continuously and efforts are on to prevent them from entering populated areas,” a forest officer said.Fear spread across villages in the affected areas and among devotees visiting the famed Rajrappa temple. Officials said elephants were camping in forest stretches along the road leading to the temple and advised people to avoid travelling on the route during early morning and late night hours.
