Keonjhar: The human-elephant conflict continues unabated in Odisha. Three members of a family suffered critical injuries Monday when an elephant attacked them at Namkani village in Telkoi forest range of Keonjhar district. The injured have been identified as Satia Dehuri, 50, his wife Rashmita Dehuri, 45, and their four-year-old son, belonging to Rodanga village in Dhenkanal district. They were returning home after witnessing the ‘Makar Yatra’ festival in neighboring Bimala village of Keonjhar district when a tusker attacked them.
Locals, however, managed to chase the pachyderm away and rescue the injured. They were first taken to a hospital in Telkoi and later shifted to Keonjhar district headquarters hospital (DHH). While Satia and his son are currently undergoing treatment at the DHH, Rashmita has been shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Sources said that the elephant menace has completely petrified people living in villages of the Telkoi forest range. They rarely step out of their houses unless some urgent work is pending. Ranger Shivaji Mohan Rao has asked people not to step out of their homes at night.