Couple killed in elephant attack in Balrampur; 2nd case in Chhattisgarh in 3 days

A wild elephant killed an elderly couple in Chhattisgarh’s Balrampur district, marking the second such incident in three days. Human-elephant conflict continues to rise in northern Chhattisgarh, where over 325 deaths have been reported in five years

Balrampur: A wild elephant trampled a couple to death when they went to a forest near their village in Chhattisgarh’s Balrampur district on Tuesday morning, forest officials said.

This was the second such incident in the state in three days. On Sunday, two labourers working on a road project were killed in a similar elephant attack in Manendragarh‑Chirmiri‑Bharatpur district.

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The latest incident occurred at around 5 am on Tuesday in a forest area near Kundi village under the Rajpur forest range of Balrampur, an official said.

Juthan Gond (65) and his wife Sundari Bai (55) came face-to-face with an elephant that had strayed into the village from a herd of five jumbos roaming in the Kalyanpur forest area. The elephant attacked the couple and both of them died on the spot, he said.

Villagers alerted the forest department soon after the incident, following which forest personnel reached the spot and sent bodies for post-mortem, the official said.

The kin of each deceased will be provided an immediate relief of Rs 25,000, while the remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh each will be released after completion of the required formalities, he added.

Forest officials said awareness campaigns and village meetings are being conducted regularly to educate residents about elephant movement and safety precautions.

On Sunday night, two labourers engaged in road construction work were killed in an elephant attack inside the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve in the state’s Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district.

Human-elephant conflict has remained a major concern in northern Chhattisgarh for more than a decade, while the menace has further spread its footprint in some districts of the central region in the last few years.

Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Jashpur and Balrampur are among the districts mainly facing the menace.

According to forest department officials, more than 325 persons lost their lives in elephant attacks across Chhattisgarh over the past five years.