Woman killed in elephant attack, another critical in Odisha’s Sundargarh

Sundargarh: A 45-year-old woman was killed and other person critically injured after they were attacked by a tusker in Ujjwalpur forest range of Sundargarh district in Odisha today. The deceased was identified as Renuka Sahu of Kulba area and the injured victim Binod Luhara of a neighbouring village.

Sources said Renuka had stepped out of the house in the wee hours when she was was attacked by the tusker. The jumbo flung her with its trunk and then trampled her killing her on the spot. A few minutes later, Binod was crossing the path when he too was attacked by the elephant. He however managed to survive with grievous injuries. Later, locals rescued him and rushed him to the district headquarters hospital. On getting information, forest personnel and Kinjirkela police reached the spot where the incident had occured. They recovered the woman’s body for postmortem and started investigation.

As per reports, a similar incident had taken place in Kulba village on October 14  where an elderly woman Clara Soreng was crushed to death by an elephant.

The back to back deaths of villagers in elephant attacks has sparked tension in the area with local residents demanding immediate action by the Forest department in this regard.