Baripada: A jumbo trampled an elderly man to death at Kukudajodi village under Rajabasa block in Mayurbhanj district Sunday.
The deceased has been identified as Chaturbhuj Nayak.
According to a source, a herd of five elephants had sneaked into Kukudajodi forest Saturday. They stayed there all through the night and damaged standing crops. The incident place when Nayak went to a nearby field to relieve himself Sunday morning.
The pachyderm came out of nowhere and before Nayak could act, the animal caught him up with its trunk and trampled him under the feet.
On being informed, a team from Rasogovindpur forest range and a team of Baripada police reached the spot. Police recovered the body for postmortem. The forest department staff were trying to drive away the herd from the area.
The villagers are in a state of panic and have demanded the elephants be driven away before nightfall.
PNN