Watch: Man trampled to death by elephant in Asifabad

The wild male elephant from the forests of of Chhattisgarh and Odisha reportedly strayed into Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra before stepping into Telangana for food and water.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: A farmer was trampled to death on Wednesday by an elephant that strayed into the district crossing the Penganga River from the neighboring Maharashtra. The farmer, Alluri Shankar, was working on his farm at Burepalli village in Chintalamanepalli mandal.

The wild male elephant from the forests of of Chhattisgarh and Odisha reportedly strayed into Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra before stepping into Telangana for food and water. It then attacked Shankar when he was working on his chilli crop on the outskirts of the village on the banks of Pranahita river. Locals shot a video of the animal, which went viral on social media platforms.

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District Forest Officer Neeraj Kumar Tebriwal said efforts were being made to divert the animal back into the forest and to avoid further human loss. A rescue team was pressed to tackle the elephant. He advised the public not to confront the animal in its path. It would go back to its territory after having food and quenching its thirst, he said.

“A herd of elephants usually migrate from Chhattisgarh and Odisha to Maharashtra in search of habitat, food and water every year. A male and female elephant are temporarily staying in Choudampalli wildlife sanctuary and Aheri forest range, Wadsa and Brahmapuri forests of Maharashtra for the last 20 days. They originally hail from Assam,” a forest official said.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra forest official have launched a search for the elephant using drone cameras in Choudampalli forest range.