Elephant tramples forest officer to death

Kolkata: In a tragic incident, a forest department employee was killed in an elephant attack at Pirakata forest range in West Midnapore on Saturday.

The victim, Shibu Hembram (48), was discharging his duties inside the forest when he was trampled to death by an elephant on Saturday morning. Police said the animal has been moving around and creating panic among locals in the district.

The incident occurred when the victim was carrying out vigilance inside the forest to check on the hunting festival of the villagers. There was a herd of elephants roaming freely inside the forest.

The victim did not get a chance to flee and he was suddenly crushed to death by one of the jumbos, a police officer said.

There were some other forest personnel who were conducting vigil to stop the villagers from entering the forest area.

It may be mentioned that some villagers were celebrating hunting festival in the forest for past few days.

The victim was rushed to Midnapore Medical College and Hospital where the doctors pronounced him brought dead.

According to forest department officials, locals were alerted after a herd of elephants entered the area few days ago. They were asked to stay indoors as the elephants were roaming around in the area, creating panic.