India News | C'garh: Man Killed by Wild Elephant in Raigarh District

Raigarh, Mar 16 (PTI) An 18-year-old man was killed by a wild elephant in a forested area of Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district on Tuesday, a forest official said.

The incident took place in the morning hours near Behramar village under Chhal forest range, where the victim Rakesh Rathiya and his friend had gone to collect Mahua fruits, the official said.

While his friend managed to escape, the tusker caught hold of Rathiya and slammed him on the ground with its trunk, killing him on the spot, he said.

On being alerted about the incident, police and forest personnel reached the spot and shifted the body for post- mortem.

The kin of the deceased were provided an immediate relief of Rs 25,000, while the remaining compensation will be given on completion of formalities, he added.

Despite being warned about an elephant roaming near villages, the duo ventured into the area, he said, adding that a team from the forest department is tracking the movement of the pachyderm.

Several incidents of human-elephant conflict have been reported in the past from the thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Korea districts.

The region has witnessed killings of several tribals and widespread damage to houses and crops by rogue elephants.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)