Animal attack

A 29-year-old man died after being attacked by an elephant while trying to drive the animal away from farmlands along with villagers at Dalangapani under Muktapur panchayat of Dhenkikot forest beat and Patana forest range in Kendujhar district, police said Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Madan Naik of the village. According to officials, a female elephant accompanied by its 18-month-old calf entered a field near a reserve forest around 3pm Monday and started feeding on pumpkins. Villagers tried to chase the elephants away by creating loud noises and using torch. When the female elephant became aggressive and charged at the crowd, Naik failed to escape and fell to the ground. The animal lifted and battered him to the ground. Despite sustaining serious injuries, he managed to return home. However, his condition deteriorated later in the evening, and he was admitted to Ghatagaon Community Health Centre. He succumbed to his injuries during treatment late Monday night. Police recovered the body Tuesday morning and sent it for post-mortem.