Elephant Rampage Horror! Seven Dead In Jharkhand
Elephant Rampage Horror: Seven Dead In Jharkhand’s Gumla And Simdega
A deadly wave of elephant attacks has claimed seven lives across Jharkhand’s Gumla and Simdega districts since Thursday, plunging villages into panic and exposing the fragile balance between humans and wildlife.
The toll rose on Saturday with three additional deaths, following an earlier rampage by a lone elephant that killed four people within 12 hours between Thursday night and Friday morning, officials confirmed.
The initial spree began around 1 AM Friday in Simdega’s Buruirgi village, where Vikas Ohdar, 28, was trampled in his home. Hours later, Sibiya Lugun, 45, met a similar fate while collecting mahua flowers in Pabuda village. By 6 AM, the elephant crossed into Gumla’s Bardih-Devgaon, crushing Christopher Ekka, 60, in a field, then fatally slamming Hemvati Devi, 35, to the ground with its trunk in Tetartoli as she gathered lac.
Two others, Ajay Minj and Imil Ba, were injured and hospitalized. Villagers say a herd had roamed the area for days, but forest officials allegedly ignored warnings.
Saturday brought fresh terror as three more perished in separate incidents across the districts, though specifics remain scarce as authorities scramble to respond.
The deceased from the latest attacks are yet to be fully identified, but police and forest teams are investigating whether a single elephant or multiple animals are responsible. Over 100 personnel, aided by drones and trackers, are now deployed to drive the elephants back into the forest.
The forest department has issued Rs 10,000 in immediate relief per victim, with Rs 4 lakh promised after formalities. “This is sheer negligence,” villagers fumed, blaming inaction for the chaos. Jharkhand, home to over 700 elephants, has seen 474 human deaths from such conflicts in the past five years, per state data. As the pachyderms’ wrath continues, calls grow for better mitigation in this elephant-rich but strife-ridden region.
