Jumbo herd tramples man to death, second death in 5 days in Barkatha block

Hazaribag: A 32-year-old daily wager of Bandasingha hamlet under Jalhaiya village in Belkappi panchayat of Gorhar police station limits in Barkatha block of Hazaribag district was trampled to death by a herd of three elephants while he was sleeping on the verandah of Jalhaiya primary school on the intervening night of Monday and Thursday.Four days ago, another villager, Rupalal Yadav of Kendua village, was killed in an elephant attack in the same block.Area residents said Mukesh Goswami was sleeping at the Jalhaiya Primary School when the herd entered the village around midnight and trampled him. The elephants also went on a rampage inside the school premises, breaking five doors and devouriing food grains stored for the Mid-Day Meal scheme. They then targeted the hut of Noonman Thakur located near the school.

Thakur and his wife escaped narrowly. The herd reached the Bandasingha Durga temple and damaged its boundary wall before villagers drove them away with torches.Former mukhiya Guddi Devi said, “Though Mukesh's late father received financial assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the house remained incomplete. Mukesh preferred sleeping on the school verandah as he was afraid to stay in the unfinished house after the untimely deaths of his mother, father, and sister.

His brother has been missing for some time, leaving him with no immediate family support.”Barhi forest range officer Satyendra Nath Chaudhary said, “Efforts are under way to drive the elephants away. The department has also distributed torches and firecrackers among villagers living in the fringes of forest area to protect themselves from elephant attacks.”An immediate assistance of Rs 50,000 was provided from the compensation amount to the victim's cousin for conducting the last rites. The remaining compensation of Rs 9.5 lakh would be released to the dependent after completion of the required documentation, he added.Local MLA Amit Kumar Yadav said, “Deforestation and stone quarrying along the forest boundary have disturbed the natural habitat of elephants, forcing them to stray into villages.”