Farmer on night vigil killed in attack by 16-member herd of wild elephants in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district

A farmer, Ramakrishna Raju (55), was killed on the spot when a 16-member herd of wild elephants attacked him in a field at Kothuru village of Somala mandal in Chittoor district late on Saturday night.

The incident triggered panic in several villages in the vicinity, as the herd was reportedly camping at a water body nearby.

As per information, the herd emerged from the nearby thickets, strayed into the field, and attacked the unsuspecting victim who was on night vigil. The sudden charge left the farmer helpless. The villagers informed the forest officials that the herd had been resorting to crop raids after dusk for the last three days.

Pawan condoles death

Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan condoled the farmer’s death and expressed solidarity with the family members. He announced that ex gratia would be given, and directed that the forest officials initiate corrective measures to prevent wild elephants from venturing into human habitations.

Meanwhile, the incident led to angry protests on Sunday, with the villagers staging a blockade on the Tirupati-Punganur Road along with the body of the farmer, blaming the Forest Department for its “gross negligence.”

Raising slogans such as “where are the Kumki elephants,” the villagers urged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Mr. Pawan Kalyan to immediately intervene and do justice to the bereaved family. They demanded that a scientific action plan be worked out to put an end to the vexed man-animal conflict in the western mandals of the district.

The villagers alleged that despite their repeated alerts about the movement of the wild elephants, there was no tangible action from the Forest Department.

Senior forest officials rushed to Kothuru and pacified the agitators by assuring them compensation and corrective measures. The farmer’s body was later shifted to the area hospital for autopsy.