Sundargarh: In yet another instance of human-animal conflict, an elderly man was trampled to death by an elephant while he was returning to home in an auto-rickshaw at Gutitangar village under Nuagaon block in Sundargarh district Thursday night.
The deceased has been identified as Mohammad Masood Alam (60), a resident of Asiana Colony under Bisra block in Rourkela of Sundergarh district.
According to locals, the mishap occurred when Masood was returning with three other passengers in an auto-rickshaw from the local market. As they were passing through a forest area, an elephant appeared on the road.
The pachyderm charged at the auto-rickshaw and even though, the others could flee the spot, Masood failed to do so. The elephant killed him on the spot.
On being informed, a team of forest officials along with the Hatibari police personnel reached the spot and sent the body for post-mortem.
Sources said frequent incidents of elephant attacks in the locality have left the villagers panic-stricken.
PNN