A 40-year-old villager was killed after approaching a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh’s Marwahi forest division, where a herd of about 53 elephants has been moving for nearly a week and has split into three to four groups, according to forest officials quoted by the Times of India.
The deceased, Kemla Prasad Panika of Rumga village, went towards the Rumga-Matiyadand forest after learning that elephants were in the area. Officials said Panika moved too close to one of the animals, which then attacked him.
A deputy ranger took Panika in a forest department vehicle to the community health centre at Marwahi. He was later referred for higher treatment but died during treatment, officials said.
The incident has prompted the forest department to intensify monitoring across the Marwahi landscape. Forest teams and members of the Hathi Mitra Dal are tracking the herd and sharing information with settlements located near its movement corridors.
DFO Nishant Kumar said the herd had remained in the Marwahi landscape for around a week and had broken into smaller groups across forest compartments. The division is monitoring the separate groups as their movement brings them closer to forest-edge villages.
Forest officials have warned residents not to approach, crowd around or attempt to chase the elephants. They have also asked people not to move closer for photographs or videos and to immediately alert forest staff when elephants are sighted near habitations.
Officials said elephants may appear calm but can change their behaviour abruptly when they feel surrounded or disturbed. Residents of adjoining villages have been advised to remain particularly cautious until the herd leaves the area. The forest department’s current response is focused on tracking the groups, communicating sightings and preventing people from gathering near the animals.
