Six women claim widow status for Rs 6 lakh compensation after farmer’s death in elephant attack in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur

RAIPUR: A bizarre dispute has emerged in Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh, after a farmer killed in a wild elephant attack left behind not one, but six women claiming to be his widow.

All six have staked their claim to the Rs 6 lakh compensation announced by the state govt. Forest officers admitted the department is facing an “extraordinary situation.” They said, six women have presented themselves as wives of deceased, some even with certificates from sarpanch and panchayat. The incident occurred on July 26 in Chimtapani village in Balajhar panchayat of Pathalgaon forest range, where 50-year-old farmer Salik Ram Toppo was trampled to death by an elephant.

When the forest department began processing the compensation case, six women turned up at the block office, each identifying herself as Salik Ram’s wife and rightful heir.Forest ranger Kripa Sindhu Paikra said that a few of them produced photos claiming Salik had given them a ‘mangalsutra’. To avoid disputes, we have asked all of them to produce valid documents that can prove legal marital status will be granted compensation,” he said.

The claimants, however, have their own arguments. One woman’s son insists his mother was the farmer’s first wife. Another says she lived with him for 20 years. Others presented certificates from neighbouring districts, while a woman claimed she was with Salik even on the day of the elephant attack.The unusual case has left the forest department in a fix. Officials confirmed that Salik Ram’s last companion, Budhiyaro Bai, had already been given an immediate relief payment on the day of his death, in front of her son. But with five more women now demanding compensation, the final settlement has been put on hold until documentary proof is verified.Under state rules, families of victims of elephant attacks are entitled to Rs six lakh ex-gratia. The department said, the money will only be released once the rightful beneficiary is legally established.