Hazaribag: Seven persons, including four members of a family and two toddlers, were trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants which entered Gondwar Tola village under the Churchu block of Hazaribag district in the early hours of Friday. The incident occurred between 1 am and 2 am, when most villagers were asleep. The seventh victim was a woman in Bhurkundatola of the same block who was killed on Friday night.This was one of the worst incidents of elephant attack in Hazaribag district in the recent past.Forest ranger Vijay Kumar elaborated more about the incident saying the elephants entered the Bhuiyan Toli of the Gondwar Tola village under the Ango Panchayat in the jurisdiction of the Ango pStation area of Churchu block. When the villagers received information about the elephants’ entry, panic prevailed, and the elephants initially destroyed the residence of Dhaneshwar Ram. When Dhaneshwar Ram’s house started falling apart, he ran outside, but the elephant crushed him to death on the spot. According to locals, five elephants strayed into the settlement from nearby forest areas and began damaging kutcha houses. In the chaos that followed, six villagers were crushed to death. The deceased were identified as Suman Kumari (26), Savita Devi (25), Dhaneshwar Ram (52), Suraj Ram (50), and two children — Anurag Ram (1) and Sanjana Kumari (3). Four of the victims belonged to the same family.These people were killed when the elephant tried to break the boundary walls and entered the premises of their home. While Savita and her son Anurag died on the spot, her daughter Sanjana Kumari was taken to Sheikh Bhikhari Medical College and Hospital for treatment, but she succumbed to her injuries on Friday morning.Villagers said the elephants uprooted the gate of one house and barged inside before trampling those attempting to flee. “People were in deep sleep when the jumbos entered. By the time we realised what was happening, the elephants were already inside the houses,” a resident said.Locals tried to drive the herd away by raising an alarm, but the elephants remained in the vicinity for a considerable time, spreading panic across the village.Residents alleged that an estimated herd of around 18 elephants moved across Churchu and adjoining Mandu assembly areas for the past few weeks, causing damage to crops and houses. They claimed repeated pleas to the administration for preventive measures yielded little result.Churchu police sent the bodies to the Sheikh Bhikhari Medical College and Hospital for the post-mortem, while the forest department teams rushed to the spot and intensified patrolling in the area.Divisional forest officer (east division) Vikas Kumar Ujjwal expressed grief over the deaths and assured all possible assistance to the bereaved families. He said, “The department monitored the herd’s movement, and efforts were underway to prevent further losses.”Villagers demanded immediate compensation for the victims’ families and a long-term solution to the recurring man-elephant conflict in the region.When forest ranger Vijay Kumar reached the spot, he found that the villagers were sitting on a dharna and demanding compensation for the next of kin of the deceased.They also demanded protection and other facilities from the forest officials. The authorities said they were working to pay compensation to the next of kin of the deceased.
