Jharkhand News : An elephant rampage in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district is showing no signs of stopping. In a fresh incident on Friday morning, a tusker killed two people near Tilokuti village (Dantel) close to Khadpos under Benisagar Panchayat in the Majhgaon block. The deceased have been identified as 40-year-old Prakash Malwa of Benisagar and a child. Eyewitnesses claimed the child’s body got stuck on the elephant’s tusk after the attack. Police reached the spot soon after receiving information.
Locals said the elephant had remained calm for nearly 48 hours, but has once again turned violent. Reports claim the same elephant has killed 21 people in the last nine days. Forest Department quick response teams are searching for the animal, but its exact location has not been confirmed yet. Support teams from West Bengal’s Bankura, Jamshedpur’s Dalma, and Odisha Wildlife have also reached the area. Late-night search operations are being carried out from camps inside the forest, while officials verify multiple, often conflicting, inputs coming from villagers.
Forest officials said the elephant has been entering residential areas since January 1 and attacking people mostly at night. Many of the incidents occurred while residents were asleep inside their homes. The department stated that once the elephant’s precise location is confirmed, it will be tranquilized and shifted to a safer zone.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Ashutosh Upadhyay and Regional Chief Conservator of Forests Smita Pankaj visited Chaibasa and inspected the affected areas. They held a meeting with field staff and directed teams to stay on high alert, keep the quick response units active, and maintain forest protection committees in alert mode. On Thursday night, DFO Aditya Narayan arrived at the Hat Gamharia camp along with an elephant expert from Gujarat-based Vantara. Villagers have demanded increased night patrolling and a stronger warning system to prevent further loss of life.
