Man trampled to death by wild elephant in Jharkhand's Lohardaga, villagers block highway in protest

Lohardaga (Jharkhand): A 30-year-old man has been trampled to death by a wild elephant in Jharkhand's Lohardaga district, a police officer said.

In protest, angry villagers put up a road blockade near 'Kachhari More' in Lohardaga town on Wednesday, leading to the disruption of traffic movement on the Ranchi-Rourkela Highway, the police officer said.

The incident happened on Tuesday night when the deceased, Sagir Ansari, was returning home after working in his paddy field.

The resident of Hanhat village under the jurisdiction of Kairo police station of the district was attacked by a wild pachyderm, and he died on the spot.

Villagers in large numbers brought the body to Sadar Hospital in Lohardaga after recovering it on Wednesday morning and squatted at 'Kachhari More', thus disrupting traffic movement on the Ranchi-Rourkela highway for an hour. They protested against the alleged negligent approach of the forest department, the police officer said.

Sub-Divisional Officer Amit Kumar, Circle Officer Ashutosh and Officer-in-Charge of Sadar Police station Ratnesh Mohan Thakur went to the spot and persuaded them to withdraw the agitation.

Villagers alleged lackadaisical approach of the forest department, even though a herd of elephants have created panic in the area damaging crops, houses and property for the last twenty days in Kairo block of the district.

The villagers called off the protest after officials assured to initiate action against erring officials.