50-yr-old killed by elephant in Keonjhar | Bhubaneswar News

Keonjhar: A 50-year-old man was killed in an elephant attack early Thursday morning in Keonjhar district marking the second such fatality in the region within a week.The victim, Turu Naik from Sanajoda village under Champua forest range, was collecting mangoes in a forest when the incident took place. Forest officials and police recovered the body and transferred it to Jhumpura community health centre for autopsy.Divisional forest officer (Kepnjhar) Dhanraj HD confirmed that the victim’s family would receive Rs 6 lakh as compensation. “An initial payment of Rs. 60,000 has been released for funeral expenses, with the remaining amount to be disbursed within 15 days,” he said.This incident follows a similar tragedy last week when an elderly woman was killed by an elephant in Kusumita village while collecting mangoes. Despite repeated warnings from forest officials, local tribal communities continue to venture into forests during early morning hours to collect forest produce, which serves as their primary source of livelihood.