Korba A rice procurement center official was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district in the early hours of Thursday, while his wife and a few employees narrowly escaped the attack, forest department officials said.
An official said that the incident occurred around 2 am in Kodmora village under Kartala police station area in Korba forest division.
He said that according to preliminary information, a large quantity of rice procured from farmers at minimum support price was stored at the procurement center in Kodmora due to lack of transportation.
He said that Rajesh Kumar Singh, a resident of Prem Nagar Rajjamar and a vendor at the Korkuma Tribal Cooperative Society, has been appointed in-charge of the procurement centre.
With incidents of rice theft reported in recent days, Singh was spending the night in a makeshift hut at the center to guard the stock with his wife Pinki Devi and two or three employees.
A wild tusk entered the procurement center premises in the early hours of the morning, and while Singh and others tried to drive the elephant away using torchlight and making loud noises, they failed in their efforts. The giant animal attacked Singh and trampled him to death on the spot, the official said.
His wife and other employees at the purchasing center managed to flee the scene amid the chaos. He added that as soon as they were informed of the incident, forest department officials reached the spot and sent the body for autopsy.
GS Baikra, Kodmora forest range officer, said there was immediate help from… $25,000 was given to the wife of the deceased, Pinki Devi.
Further legal action is being taken to provide the remaining compensation $5.75 lakh as per government norms, he added.
The forest department has appealed to villagers to remain alert and avoid venturing alone into agricultural fields or procurement centers due to the continued movement of wild elephants in the area.
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
