Tusker kills 10-yr-old

Rourkela: A 10-year-old boy was killed by an elephant on Wednesday night when he was sleeping with his mother in their house at Amurudi village in Sankhposh gram panchayat.

The deceased, Biswanath Munda, had lost his father two years ago.

A herd of elephants, which was roaming in the area, came nearer the village. One male elephant, aged about seven years, got separated from the herd and barged into the village. This lone elephant was searching for food, said villagers. "It was all alone and was apparently searching for food," said Samanta Munda, a villager.

The villagers came together to drive it away. In the process, the enraged elephant found itself in front of the house of the deceased. It suddenly barged in and broke down a portion of the kuchha wall. Biswanath's mother Shanti and the two children tried to escape from the scene. The younger child and the mother went in one direction and Biswanath went another way. However, he came face to face with the elephant and it lifted him with its trunk and banged on the ground.

Rourkea divisional forest officer Sanjay Swain said: "The villagers were in no position to do anything. The deceased's family has been given Rs 20,000 immediately for the boy's cremation. Another sum of Rs 3.8 lakh will be given to them within two months. We have given polythene to the family to cover the damaged portion of the house and another sum of Rs 2,000 to repair the house. Besides, we are also going to write to the collector to sanction Biju pucca ghar for the families, whose dwellings are damaged in such circumstances."

Biswanath is the 14th victim of elephant killing in the district this year.

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/odisha/tusker-kills-10-yr-old-249549