Woman trampled to death, son & hubby injured in Anuppur

Bhopal: A 50-year-old woman was trampled to death, while her husband and 6-year-old son were injured after an elephant attacked a family in Anuppur district, marking the third such fatality in the district this year amid growing human-elephant conflict.The incident occurred in Bholgarh village when the family was returning from their farm through a forested stretch. As they reached the jungle path, an elephant suddenly appeared and charged at them, triggering panic. In the chaos, the woman was knocked to the ground and fatally crushed, while her husband and child sustained injuries as they tried to escape.Locals rushed to the spot and raised an alarm, following which the elephant retreated into the forest. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, where they are undergoing treatment and are stated to be out of danger. Forest department teams have intensified monitoring in the area, which has been witnessing frequent elephant movement in recent months."Overall, there are five elephants that have strayed into Anuppur from neighbouring Chhattisgarh. This year, they have stayed for a long. The animals were first sighted in Dec last year. However, all these elephants did not come together. They have strayed at different times. The recent mishap involves one elephant, which is alone and is in Anuppur range. The other four are in a group, and they are in Jaitahri range. Several measures are being undertaken, including involving local youth in our Hathi Mitra group, then there are dedicated patrolling teams. Besides these, we are also doing electronic monitoring through Gaj Rakshak, the official elephant monitoring app of govt," district forest officer, Anuppur, David Venkat Rao told TOI.He added, "This third incident was reported this year, earlier one death was reported from Jaitahri and one from Anuppur."The latest incident occurred late on Sunday afternoon and has sparked fear among villagers, with forest officials stepping up surveillance and awareness measures to prevent further casualties.