Hazaribag: A herd of three wild elephants, including two adults and a calf, trampled a 50-year-old man to death, injured another person and damaged properties as it went on a rampage through several villages in Barkatha block late on Friday.The deceased was identified as Ruplal Yadav of Kendua village under Chuglamo panchayat. Yadav, a father of five including two minor sons and three daughters who are married, was at a tea stall near Naksari Tand on the Kendua-Kalahabad Road, nearly 500 metres from his village, with four others when the herd emerged from the Jhingibarai-Gaipahari forest. While others managed to escape, one elephant lifted him with its trunk and crushed him. Yadav’s family was given an initial compensation of Rs 1 lakh.The herd later moved through Turkabad to Gaida village, where PDS dealer Yugal Paswan, 58, fractured his arm and suffered multiple injuries while trying to flee. The herd then entered Basramo village and damaged a PDS shop belonging to one Qurban Ansari, and consumed grains stored inside.Gaida deputy mukhiya Chandradeep Pandey said, “The affected villages lie along a traditional elephant corridor leading towards Chhahariyamo hill. There is a need for permanent safety measures in elephant-prone areas .”Forest officials and police personnel said they were monitoring the herd’s movement through the night to drive it away from human settlements. The elephants were camping in the forest for the past five days. Two days earlier, they raided a primary school in Gaipahari and consumed food grains stored for the midday meal scheme.Range officer Satyendra Nath Chaudhary said, “Efforts are on to push the herd away, but dense forest cover is hampering operations. Residents should avoid venturing out after dark .”
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