Two Killed in Separate Elephant Attacks in Odisha’s Angul District

Bhubaneswar: Two persons lost their lives in separate wild elephant attacks in Odisha’s Angul district on Tuesday, highlighting the continuing challenge of human-elephant conflict in the region.

In the first incident, a 65-year-old man, identified as Gandharba Sahu, was killed by an elephant in Mushapapuli village under the Angul Forest Range. According to reports, the incident occurred at around 6:30 am when Sahu had gone to a nearby forest. The elephant allegedly attacked him and crushed his head, resulting in his death on the spot.

In another incident, a woman identified as Pramila Raul (40), wife of Pankaj Raul and a resident of Jaripal village, was trampled to death by a tusker in the Nuagaon area under the Chhendipada Forest Range. Pramila had reportedly visited her daughter’s house and had gone to collect mangoes when the elephant attacked her.

Forest department personnel and police officials reached both locations and initiated investigations. The bodies were sent to the Chhendipada Health Centre for post-mortem examination.

The back-to-back fatalities have triggered concern among residents living in forest-fringe villages of Angul district, where incidents of human-elephant conflict continue to pose a serious threat to local communities.