Keonjhar: A farmer was trampled to death by an elephant while guarding his paddy crops at Kusakala village under the Keonjhar forest range on Sunday.
The deceased farmer has been identified as Maheswar Mahanta.
It is pertinent to mention here that several farmers guard their agricultural fields by setting up temporary structures on trees as there has been a rise in incidents of elephants destroying the standing crops in the region.
On Sunday, Mahanta had climbed down the tree to ward off a herd of five elephants that had entered his field. However, he was trampled to death by one elephant.
Angry over the incident, locals staged a road blockade on Monday alleging that police and forest officials shifted the farmer’s body to Keonjhar without informing his family.
The forest department officials, on the other hand, claimed that the farmer was shifted to the hospital as it was presumed that he was alive. However, he was declared dead by the doctors. Efforts are being made by the senior police and forest department officials to hold discussions with the protesters and resolve the issue.
