Tragic Incident: Three Lives Lost as Wild Elephants Rampage in Jharkhand
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Key Takeaways
Ramgarh (Jharkhand), April 3 (NationPress) - In a tragic incident, a herd of wild elephants trampled three individuals to death in the Gola block of Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district early on Friday morning, causing widespread panic and outrage among local residents.
The deceased included two laborers working at a brick kiln and an elderly villager.
The first fatality occurred at approximately 4 a.m. in Banda village, where Dheeraj Bhuiyan and Jugal Bhuiyan were attacked by the herd while they were outside. Dheeraj was from Talatand in Patratu, while Jugal was a resident of Kuju, Ramgarh.
In another incident, 80-year-old Ramdev Shaw lost his life in Murpa village after the elephants assaulted him while he was gathering Mahua flowers early in the morning.
Reports indicate that the herd, consisting of around 12 elephants, had migrated from the forests of the neighboring Bokaro district into residential areas of Ramgarh.
Authorities from the Forest Department and police responded to the emergency call, and the deceased have been sent for post-mortem examinations.
Local villagers expressed their frustration regarding the Forest Department's response to the situation. Kuldeep Tiwari, the Mukhiya of Banda Panchayat, accused officials of negligence, claiming that they had prior knowledge of the elephants' movement but failed to implement necessary precautions to prevent them from entering populated areas.
Officials announced that each family of the victims will receive a compensation of Rs 4 lakh, with an immediate payment of Rs 25,000 already issued, while the remainder will be disbursed following administrative procedures.
This incident underscores the escalating conflict between humans and elephants in Jharkhand. Just a week ago, three individuals were killed in a similar attack in Markacho, Koderma. Official statistics reveal that over 28 individuals have died in elephant-related incidents throughout the state in the last 50 days.