Tusker tramples man to death in Marwahi forest

Raipur: A 55-year-old man was trampled to death by a tusker in Marwahi forest division early on Friday, triggering panic in villages near the Chhattisgarh-Madhya Pradesh border.The victim, Trilochan Singh, a resident of Dadiya village in Pendra region, had gone alone to collect mahua flowers in the Dadiyadongri forest at 4 am when he was attacked by the two-tusked male elephant, forest department officials said.Singh died on the spot, the officials said.After the attack, the elephant continued to camp in the Shivni beat area, leaving nearby villagers in fear. Officials said the tusker had been moving along the state borders for the past few days and had damaged crops on farms.Officials believe that it could be the same elephant that had moved out of the Pasan area in Katghora forest division and entered Marwahi on April 1. It reportedly crossed Kumhari Road and the Son river belt before reaching the forests near Dadiya.Forest guard Shahid Khan, Pondi sarpanch Hemchand Maravi and a team from Marwahi police reached the spot.The officials said that continuous monitoring is being done in forest regions to prevent more such incidents. As the area lies close to Madhya Pradesh's Anuppur district, authorities have also sounded an alert in the bordering villages.The officials have appealed to residents not to venture into the jungle, especially during the early morning and night hours.