Tusker Tramples Man to Death in Manoharpur, Woman Hurt in Ichagarh
Key Points:
- Elephant herd injures woman after breaking wall in Ichagarh’s Mausadha
- Tusker kills 48-year-old man in Manoharpur’s Patharbasa village
- Forest department promises rupees ten lakh aid to victim’s family
SERAIKELA – Wild elephants attacked two villages in the Kolhan region on Tuesday night, leaving a woman injured in Seraikela-Kharsawan district and a man dead in West Singhbhum.
The twin incidents occurred in Ichagarh block’s Mausadha village and Manoharpur block’s Patharbasa village. Both areas have witnessed repeated elephant attacks across the Kolhan region in recent months.
A herd of elephants entered Mausadha village late at night in search of food and water. Most villagers were asleep when the animals broke down a wall of one house.
The collapsing wall trapped a woman sleeping inside, leaving her critically injured. Family members and neighbours pulled her from the debris after a prolonged struggle and rushed her to hospital.
Fear gripped the entire village following the incident. Residents alleged that elephant movement in the area has increased steadily in recent times.
Villagers blamed large-scale sand mining along the Subarnarekha river near Tirildih for disrupting the animals’ natural migratory path. They said this has pushed elephants into populated areas.
Locals also accused the forest department of negligence. They claimed officials failed to reach the spot promptly despite being informed.
Meanwhile, in West Singhbhum’s Manoharpur block, a tusker killed 48-year-old Dileshwar Jatram of Kokloltala in Patharbasa village. The Manoharpur area has seen fatal elephant attacks before, including one in December that killed an elderly woman.
Jatram had stepped out of his house around 2 a.m. to relieve himself. He reportedly did not notice a tusker standing nearby in the darkness.
The elephant attacked him, lifting him with its trunk before throwing him to the ground. He died on the spot.
Fear of the animal kept family members from venturing outside immediately. His wife, Bali Jatram, stepped out the next morning and learned of the incident.
A forest department team reached the village after being alerted. The body was taken to Manoharpur Community Health Centre, where doctors declared him dead.
Police later sent the body to Chakradharpur for post-mortem examination. Forest guard Abhay Kumar said the victim’s family would receive immediate assistance of one lakh rupees under the Jharkhand government’s policy for such deaths.
An additional ex-gratia amount of nine lakh rupees would follow once the necessary procedures are completed, Kumar said. The total aid package matches compensation extended in earlier cases, including one in which ex-gratia payments were made to victims’ families in the district.
Both incidents have heightened fear and anger among residents of the affected villages. Locals have demanded that the administration and forest department take permanent measures to prevent human-elephant conflict and provide adequate support to affected families.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren had earlier made remarks regarding elephant attack fatalities in the state, a claim that has been disputed by opposition leaders citing repeated deaths. Critics have separately argued that the state government’s mitigation plan has failed to curb the conflict despite continued casualties across Kolhan.
Similar attacks have struck the wider region this year, including one in May when elephants destroyed homes and injured women in villages across Jamshedpur and Seraikela.
