Raipur: Human-elephant conflict has claimed one more life in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district. This time, an 18-year-old man was killed by a wild elephant in a forested area of 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 and save his life, the tusker caught hold of Rathiya and threw 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 sent his 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 last six months in the dense forested northern region of Chhattisgarh, including Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Korea districts.
The region has witnessed killings of several tribal people and huge damage of houses, properties and crops by the wild elephants.
