Koderma: A 55-year-old woman was trampled to death by a lone elephant when she had gone collect mahua flowers from the forest near Harladih village under Jamu panchayat in Koderma district on Sunday morning, marking the third such fatality in four days. The deceased was identified as Sita Devi.According to reports, Sita and a group of women had gone near the forest around 5:45 am to collect mahua flowers, when the elephant suddenly emerged from the foliage and attacked her, killing her on the spot. The other women managed to flee back towards the village. Following the attack, the elephant went back into the forest.After getting information, Markachho block development officer Hulas Mahto, forest ranger Ravindra Kumar and sub-inspector Vishal Singh from Markachho police station visited the spot to take stock of the situation. They were confronted by angry villagers who accused the officials of gross indifference and a lack of regular patrolling.Residents claimed they had submitted several petitions requesting the installation of high-mast lights and the digging of trenches along forest boundaries to prevent elephants but no action has been taken.They said the same elephant demolished several boundary walls in nearby Nadkari village on Saturday night, before locals were able to drive it back into the forest using torches and firecrackers.On Wednesday, two persons, including a woman, were killed by an elephant under Koderma police station limits.In an effort to provide immediate relief, forest officials handed over Rs 25,000 to the bereaved family of Sita for her last rites. They assured that the remaining compensation would be disbursed following the completion of formalities.Divisional forest officer (DFO) Saumitra Shukla urged residents to remain vigilant and avoid entering forests early morning and late evening until the elephant is driven deeper into the forests. The DFO said a dedicated team is making efforts to drive away the elephant, which got separated from its herd.
