Wild elephants kill four villagers in six days in Bengal's Jhargram

Wild elephants on Thursday killed two villagers in the Jhargram area of Bengal’s West Midnapore district bordering Jharkhand, a region the herds use as corridor to move between the two states. Four more villagers have been killed in West Midnapore since last Saturday. While Purnima Mahato, 50, died in the Barobhanga area, Chittaranjan Mahato, 45, was killed near Dherigeria village.

Both were trampled by tuskers on Thursday when they ventured near forests. Read: Five people killed by elephants in 48 hours in Jharkhand Purnima Mahato had gone to collect mahua flowers that are used to produce a heady brew popular among tribal people.

Incidentally, the strong fragrance of these flowers as well as the brew also draw elephants and wild bears. Chittaranjan Mahato, a tribal and resident of Sukhnakhali, was going to Balivasa on his bicycle when he was attacked.

The tuskers trampled him and smashed the cycle as well. Irked by so many deaths, local people staged a demonstration on Thursday, alleging that the forest department was doing nothing to drive the herds away. Read: Odisha youth tramped to death by elephant while taking selfie “There are some wild elephants that permanently live in these jungles.

We suspect that the two villagers killed on Thursday were attacked by one of the local herds.

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