The latest attacks took place late Sunday evening in two villages under Mahasamund forest circle within a span of a couple of hours, they said.
In the first incident, an elderly man, identified Raju Vishwakarma, a native of Mahasamund town, located over 50 km from the state capital Raipur, was killed by a tusker near Gaurkheda village when he was travelling along with two others on a motorcycle, Divisional Forest Officer (Mahasamund) Pankaj Rajput said.
After suddenly coming face-to-face with the elephant on the road, the man driving the two-wheeler lost control over it, following which Vishwakarma, who was riding pillion, fell from the vehicle.
While the two others managed to escape from the spot, the elephant caught hold of Vishwakarma with its trunk and trampled him to death, the official said.
Later, a few kilometers away, the same elephant attacked and killed another person, Parmeshwar (30), in a field on the outskirts of Jhalkhamariya village, he said.
The kin of the two deceased were provided an immediate aid of Rs 25,000 each, while the remaining compensation will be given after completion of the necessary formalities, the official said.
With this incident, eight people have been killed in separate incidents of elephant attack in Mahasamund district so far this year, he said.
Forest personnel have alerted residents of over a dozen villages in the area about the movement of elephants and cautioned them to avoid entering forests after dusk, he said.
On September 7, a man was trampled to death by an elephant in Bandora village of Mahasamund, while the next day, a couple and their son were killed in a similar attack in Surguja district.
As per government records, 204 people were killed in elephant attacks, while 45 jumbos died in the state in the last three years (2018, 2019 and 2020).
There have been several incidents human-elephant conflict in a number of districts of the state in the recent past. PTI COR TKP
GK GK
