Wild elephant tramples elderly woman to death in Chhattisgarh

Korba, Dec 17 (PTI) A 60-year-old woman was killed in an elephant attack in Chhattisgarh's Korba district in the wee hours of Wednesday, a forest official said.

The incident took place around 3 am when the victim, identified as Phoolsundari Manjhawar and her husband, from Nimpani village under Chaitma forest range, were asleep in the courtyard of their residence, Katghora Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Kumar Nishant said.

"The woman woke up on hearing the calls of an elephant nearby and started running. The wild animal chased her and trampled her to death, while her husband managed to save himself by hiding under the bed," he added.

After being alerted, the forest personnel reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem, he said.

The kin of the deceased were given an initial relief amount of Rs 25,000, the official said, adding that the remaining compensation will be disbursed after completion of the due process, he added.

The DFO said, "The wild elephant has migrated from the Sipat range under the Bilaspur forest division to the Katghora forest division. It has been roaming in the forests of the Chaitma range of the division for the past four days. Since this lone elephant is quite aggressive, the forest department is continuously monitoring and issuing warnings to villagers through announcements, urging them to be cautious." But despite such warnings, villagers are disregarding the forest department's advice and acting carelessly. This negligence resulted in a tragedy in Nimpani village, where an elderly woman lost her life as she was sleeping in the open outside her house, he said.

As many as 22 people have lost their lives due to attacks by wild animals in the Katghora forest division between April 1, 2021, and December 17, 2025. Approximately, 55 elephants are currently roaming in the area, the DFO added.

Human-elephant conflicts have become a cause for concern in Chhattisgarh in the last decade, especially in the northern parts.

The most affected districts are Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Balrampur and Jashpur.

According to the forest officials, around 320 people have died in elephant attacks in the state in the last five years. PTI COR NP