After killing 5 people in 4 days, elephant crosses over to CG

Gumla: An aggressive elephant, which terrorized Gumla district in Jharkhand by claiming five lives and injuring three others since last Friday, likely crossed over to neighbouring Chhattisgarh, forest department officers said on Monday. They said they last spotted the elephant along the Gumla-Chhattisgarh border, but could not trace it after Sunday midnight.

Talking to TOI on Monday, Ahmed Belal Anwar, divisional forest officer (DFO), said: "As per our understanding, the elephant has crossed the border. It was last spotted around Sunday midnight in the Jari area along the border with Chhattisgarh. There has been no trace of the animal since. Our field staff, especially the quick response team (QRT) and forest guards, were on the ground continuously for two to three nights to deal with the challenging situation."

Regarding its aggressiveness, Anwar said, "There could be two reasons: either it was disturbed by locals pelting it with stones, or it has experienced an unpleasant situation like excessive noise, making it highly stimulated."

The three injured people — Ajay Minj and Clara Baa from the Palkot police station area, and Arbing Singh from the Albert Ekka (Jari) police station area — are currently undergoing treatment at the sadar hospital. Forest officers said kin of the five deceased people were given compensation promptly and the remaining amount would be processed soon.

Gumla: An aggressive elephant, which terrorized Gumla district in Jharkhand by claiming five lives and injuring three others since last Friday, likely crossed over to neighbouring Chhattisgarh, forest department officers said on Monday. They said they last spotted the elephant along the Gumla-Chhattisgarh border, but could not trace it after Sunday midnight.

Talking to TOI on Monday, Ahmed Belal Anwar, divisional forest officer (DFO), said: "As per our understanding, the elephant has crossed the border. It was last spotted around Sunday midnight in the Jari area along the border with Chhattisgarh. There has been no trace of the animal since. Our field staff, especially the quick response team (QRT) and forest guards, were on the ground continuously for two to three nights to deal with the challenging situation."

Regarding its aggressiveness, Anwar said, "There could be two reasons: either it was disturbed by locals pelting it with stones, or it has experienced an unpleasant situation like excessive noise, making it highly stimulated."

The three injured people — Ajay Minj and Clara Baa from the Palkot police station area, and Arbing Singh from the Albert Ekka (Jari) police station area — are currently undergoing treatment at the sadar hospital. Forest officers said kin of the five deceased people were given compensation promptly and the remaining amount would be processed soon.