Priest trampled to death by wild jumbo

A priest was trampled to death by a wild jumbo at Kollahalli on the outskirts of the town, in the early hours of Tuesday.

Astik Bhat (52), the priest who used to perform puja at temples, is the deceased. According to sources, he had come out of his house to attend to nature's call at around 5.30 am, when the wild elephant attacked him and trampled him. He died on the spot.

The post mortem of the priest was conducted at the Crawford Hospital. He is survived by his wife and a daughter.

MLA H K Kumaraswamy, deputy commissioner R Girish, ZP CEO Paramesh, assistant commissioner M Girish Nandan and tahsildar Manjunath visited the spot. They distributed a compensation cheque for Rs 2 lakh to the kin of the deceased. The MLA said the remaining compensation of Rs 5 lakh would be presented soon.

Elected representatives, members of farmers' associations and others held a protest on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru national highway, demanding that the government find a permanent solution to the wild jumbo menace in the region.