Raipur: Two individuals lost their lives in separate incidents involving wild elephants in Balrampur district, Chhattisgarh, officials reported.
The attacks occurred on Monday evening in different villages under the Ramanujganj police station.
According to police reports, in Chhatwa-Fulwar village, a woman was fatally injured late Monday night while trying to save her husband from a herd of elephants. The police station in-charge, Ramakant Tiwari, confirmed that the woman, identified as Asmina (40), sustained serious injuries during the attack and succumbed to her wounds while receiving treatment on Tuesday morning. Her husband, Usman (45), is currently in critical condition.
The elephants first attacked Asmina, severely injuring her and causing her to lose one hand. Both she and her husband were initially admitted to the Community Health Center for emergency care, but she did not survive.
Following her death, villagers expressed their anger over the recurrent elephant attacks by staging a blockade (Chakka Jam) on the Chhattisgarh-Jharkhand road, blaming forest officials for negligence.
“The situation is under control, but conflicts between humans and elephants are common in the area,” the police officer added.
In a separate incident later that same night in Rampur village, 50-year-old Durga Prasad was killed after being attacked by a group of elephants in the same police jurisdiction.
Balrampur district shares a border with dense forest areas in Jharkhand, which are home to many elephants that frequently move between the two states. This area is naturally defined by the Kanhar River.
Last year, a wild elephant similarly trampled a man named Chamra Ram (60) to death in the Rajpur area of Balrampur. The incident occurred when he encountered a group of eight elephants near his home near the Chilma Forest Range. The elephants crushed him, resulting in immediate death, while his family managed to escape the scene. At that time, around 35 elephants were roaming the area, with eight separating from the larger herd.
