Bargarh: Three members of a family – a woman and her two children – were trampled to death by wild elephants at Saladiha village under Paikamal Range in Odisha’s Bargarh district.
As per sources, the family members were sleeping in the backyard of the house in view of hot and humid weather on Monday night when the incident took place.
The deceased have been identified as Pana Bariha, her daughter Sunanda (10) and son Aditya (3).
Pana’s husband Bipin, son Mantu (7) and father-in-law Jatia were critically injured in the jumbo attack. They are undergoing treatment at a hospital.
A herd of elephants appeared to have strayed into the village in search of food and then stormed Pana’s house, killing the three. The incident triggered tension in the locality. Police were pacifying the irate villagers.
Meanwhile, locals alleged that the Forest department had not informed them about elephants’ presence in the locality for which this incident took place.