Surajpur: Another elephant attack was reported in outskirts of a village in Chhattisgarh’s Surajpur district where a 46-year-old woman was killed. The incident occurred in Bhelkachh village under Ghui forest range, where the victim Geeta Devi was heading to her field on Thursday, said B S Bhagat, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Surajpur forest division.
The woman died on the spot after the elephant picked her up in her tusks and slammed her against the ground repeatedly. The body of the lady was recovered from a small pond nearby. On being alerted, forest personnel rushed to the spot and shifted the body to a hospital for post-mortem, the official said.
Surajpur has recorded 48 deaths since 2014, after an elephant named Pyare repeatedly hurt and killed several. District forest officials have sought permission from the state government to shift Pyare to a local elephant rescue and rehabilitation centre.
Meanwhile, Bilaspur-based wildlife activist Mansoor Khan has stressed proper monitoring of movements of rogue elephants to prevent their entry into human settlements and said that in the case of Pyare, keeping it in captivity is the only option left with the forest department.
“We never wish for wild animals to be kept in captivity, but in the case of Pyare, the situation is different. Several people have lost their lives in attacks. Now shifting him to a rescue centre is the only option left with forest officials,” Khan said.