RAIPUR: A herd of wild elephants trampled a 60-year-old farmer to death in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district, and less than 24 hours later, allegedly stormed his funeral, sending mourners fleeing for safety and damaging several vehicles.
The victim, identified as Joonas Bada, a resident of Gadakata village, had gone to his fields with his sons on Tuesday evening and chose to spend the night there despite warnings of elephant movement nearby. His body was found the next morning, surrounded by deep footprints, officials said.
According to forest officials, Bada had ignored advisories against venturing into forested farmlands after dusk due to frequent elephant activity in the area.
As villagers gathered late Wednesday night to perform his last rites, panic erupted when a herd of elephants charged toward the funeral crowd, smashing three vehicles and forcing mourners to take shelter in nearby houses.
“We had just buried the body when the elephants appeared suddenly,” said a villager who attended the funeral.
Forest staff reached the spot within minutes and managed to drive the herd back into the forest after a tense 30-minute operation.
While villagers claimed it was the same herd responsible for Bada’s death, forest officials said verification was still underway.
“If it was indeed the same group, the tuskers may have reacted to past provocation or distress, but such claims can only be confirmed through tracking data,” an official said, adding that locals have been repeatedly warned to avoid forest areas after dark.
Bada’s death marks the eighth fatality due to elephant attacks in Jashpur district this year, highlighting the growing human-animal conflict in the region’s forest belt.
