Khurda: A woman was trampled to death by an elephant at Durgaprasad village under Dhaulimunha gram panchayat in Khurda district Saturday.
The elephant also attacked three others, leaving them seriously injured.
The deceased has been identified as Manjulata Behera and the injured as Nityananda Behera, Mamata Bharimalla and Sasmita Bharimalla of Durgaprasad village.
According to a source, the four were working at the backyards of their houses. Suddenly a tusker came from nowhere and attacked Manjulata. The elephant took her by its trunk, thrashed her to the ground and trampled her to death. Then the pachyderm attacked others.
The villagers rushed the injured to Khurda district headquarters hospital. Later, Mamata and Sasmita were shifted to AIIMS in Bhubaneswar as their conditions deteriorated.
The incident triggered tension in the village as hundreds of villagers staged a sit-in on the village road, holding the Forest Department responsible for the death. They demanded adequate compensation for the bereaved family.
Later, Forest Department officials reached the spot, pacified the angry villagers promising compensation as per government guidelines before the agitation was withdrawn.
PNN