Korba , A paddy procurement centre in-charge was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district in the wee hours of Thursday, while his wife and a few employees narrowly escaped the attack, forest department officials said.
The incident occurred at around 2 am in Kudmura village under the Kartala police station area in the Korba forest division, an official said.
As per preliminary information, a large quantity of paddy purchased from farmers at minimum support price was stored at a procurement centre in Kudmura due to lack of transportation, he said.
Rajesh Kumar Singh , a resident of Prem Nagar Rajgamar and a salesman with the Tribal Cooperative Society in Korkoma, was appointed in-charge of the procurement centre, he said.
As incidents of paddy theft had been reported in recent days, Singh had been staying overnight in a temporary hut at the centre to guard the stock along with his wife Pinki Devi and two to three employees.
A wild tusker entered the procurement centre premises in the wee hours, and while Singh and others tried to drive the elephant away using torchlight and making loud noises, they failed in their efforts. The giant animal attacked Singh and trampled him to death on the spot, the official said.
His wife and other employees of the procurement centre managed to flee the spot amid the chaos. On being alerted about the incident, forest department officials reached the spot and sent the body for post mortem, he said.
Kudmura Forest Range Officer G S Paikra said an immediate assistance of ₹25,000 was provided to the deceased’s wife, Pinki Devi.
Further legal formalities are underway to provide remaining compensation of ₹5.75 lakh as per government norms, he added.
The forest department appealed to villagers to remain alert and avoid venturing alone into agriculture fields or procurement centres due to the continued movement of wild elephants in the area.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
