Gumla: An elderly woman was trampled to death by an elephant inside a forest under Basia block limits of Gumla forest division on Sunday morning.Birsi Oraon (55) had ventured into the Baghdhara Gadha forest to collect mahua fruit. The forest is located adjacent to Karaloya Mamarla village under the same block. Suddenly, a tusker appeared and attacked her, killing her on the spot.As the villagers came to know about the incident, they informed the forest department and local administration. A forest team led by forest beat officer Shekhar Singh reached to the spot and handed over Rs 25,000 as immediate relief amount, a part of the compensation, to the affected family.The deceased’s son-in-law, Baneshwar Tirkey, said, “The vilagers depend upon forest for livelihood and these days they go deep into it as their daily endeavour amid the danger.”Forest beat officer Shekhar Singh said, “It was the same stray elephant which killed a man in Ghaghra block on Friday. It attacked the woman from behind when she was collecting mahua here. We have given Rs 25,000 as immediate compensation to the affected family, and currently are engaged in driving the elephant inside the forest to avoid further human-elephant encounters.”This is fourth fatality in 2026 due to elephant attack here. On April 10, one Anup Kumar Pandey was killed by an elephant in Ghaghra block under the Gumla forest division. In 2025, at least seven people were killed by the jumbos in this division of the state.
