80-year-old woman trampled to death by elephant near Katarniaghat sanctuary in Bahraich; 3rd death in month

PILIBHIT: An 80-year-old woman was trampled to death by a tusker near the core forest area of Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuary in Bahraich on Sunday in the third fatal human-elephant conflict in the district in a little over a month. Forest officials said Kunwaria, a resident of Bhawanipur village, had taken her goats out for grazing and was trying to bring them back after some strayed towards the forest when the animal attacked her.Divisional forest officer Apoorv Dixit told TOI, "Bhawanipur falls inside the core forest area of the sanctuary," and said the zone had a considerable population of tigers, leopards and elephants. He said field staff rushed to the spot after the incident and confirmed from the footprints that the woman had been attacked by a tusker.Locals raised an alarm and tried to drive the animal away, but the woman could not escape. Forest officials said the tusker struck her before she could move to safety, causing her death on the spot. The body was later sent for post-mortem.This was the third human death in elephant attacks in Bahraich since Feb 15. On that day, a tusker killed a 100-year-old godman inside the core forest area. The very next day, Munni Devi, 45, was killed on Bichhia-Katarniaghat road when a tusker attacked her while she was returning home on a bike.