Ambikapur: A tragic incident involving a man-elephant encounter was reported from the Sarguja district, in which a villager lost his life. The incident occurred within the Kumdeva forest, situated in the Udaipur forest range of Surguja district. The forest team, along with villagers, discovered the mutilated body of the villager on Thursday within the jungle.
The deceased has been identified as Tapu Majhwar Kumdeva, who had gone missing on the day of the brutal encounter in the jungle.
According to witnesses, the man was fatally attacked while he was inside the forest, likely trying to observe wild elephants. Notably, a herd of 11 elephants had been observed roaming in the Udaipur forest area for the past 20 days.
On Wednesday, the herd was seen near the jungle, close to the paddy fields of Kumdeva. Some people were chased by the elephants, and in an attempt to escape the encounter, men, women, and children fled deep into the forest, covering a distance of 2-3 kilometers.
Villagers discover mutilated body
However, in the morning hours, villagers discovered the mutilated body of the deceased, which showed signs of being badly trampled.
The herd had been spotted several times on the Udaipur-Kedma main road. In an effort to prevent further loss of life and property, the forest department had issued warnings multiple times, urging people not to approach the wild elephants, as it posed a danger, as mentioned by a forest official.
Nevertheless, up until that point, local residents had complained that the wild elephants had caused significant damage to around 100 acres of crops in the area.
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