Jumbo kills man after calf falls into well
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Jumbo kills man|Athagarh hospital|Athagarh forest
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CUTTACK: After being rescued from a village well, an elephant calf briskly walked across the field into the forest where it reunited with its mother. A sight to devour but what led to it was heart wrenching. The calf had accidentally fallen into the well and the mother, unable to rescue its baby, went on the rampage and trampled a man to death at Balipada village under Athagarh forest division on Tuesday.
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Forest officers said the 35-year-old elephant along with its five-year-old calf had strayed into the village in search of food in the wee hours. The duo was savouring mangoes when the calf failed to spot the well, in the field, and fell into it. Promod Rout (50), who was passing through the field, became a victim of the mother elephant's fury. "The elephant attacked the villager as it suspected that he might harm the calf," said divisional forest officer (Athagarh) Arun Mishra. Though villagers rescued Rout and rushed him to Athagarh hospital, doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The death triggered panic in the area and the villagers chased the elephant away by bursting crackers. They also blocked the way of forest officers and prevented them from carrying out rescue operations to save the calf, demanding Rs 10 lakh compensation and a job to a member of the deceased's family.
Senior officers of police, forest department and fire brigade reached the spot at around 7am and tried to pacify the villagers. After five hours of discussions, they managed to convince them and gave away Rs 1 lakh compensation to the wife of the deceased along with Rs 10,000 for his cremation.
After the villagers cleared the road blockade, the foresters brought an earthmoving machine and rescued the baby elephant from the well. "A slope was dug into the well which helped the calf to climb up," added Mishra. Forest officers said the mother elephant was waiting for the calf outside the village. "The calf after coming out of the well ran towards the forest and reunited with its mother," said a forest officer.
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