Wild elephant that killed 2 in Telangana tramples 3 more in Gadchiroli
The wild elephant, which killed two persons in Telangana earlier this month, came to Gadchiroli last week
NAGPUR: A wild elephant strayed into south Gadchiroli’s Bhamragarh region and trampled three people to death including two women over the last five days, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Gadchiroli circle conservator of forests Ramesh Kumar said the male elephant, originally from Chhattisgarh, had been in neighbouring Telangana for some time where the elephant killed two people. On April 24, the elephant entered the Bhamragarh area of Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli and attacked a farmer, Gonglu Rama Telami (46) of Kiyar village when he was working on his farm near the forest. The following day, the elephant attacked a gathering of people at a religious event in Hidur village at about 7:30pm, leading to serious injuries to three women.
Mahari Devu Wadde (50) and Raje Kopa Alami (50) later died on Sunday due to the injuries sustained in the attack. A third woman, Vanje Juru Pungati (48), is being treated for her injuries at the civil hospital in Chandrapur town.
“Both women died due to serious injuries on their legs and stomach,” said Ramesh Kumar, adding that a formal autopsy report was awaited.
Forest officials said multiple teams were closely tracking the elephant’s movements including with the help of drones and advising villagers to take precautions if the elephant is spotted.
Gadchiroli district, spread across 14,400 sqkm of densely forested landscape, did not have any wild elephants till 2021 when a herd of 23 elephants entered the eastern Maharashtra district from Chhattisgarh’s Bastar jungle. Since then, the herd has grown with the birth of two calves in the Wadsa division of Gadchiroli,
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