KODERMA: Panic gripped parts of Jharkhand’s Koderma district in the early hours of Wednesday after a herd of elephants entered the area, leaving two people, including a minor, dead in separate incidents, a forest department official said. The incidents took place at two brick kiln units in Kanjhiadih panchayat under Jainagar police station limits around 2 am, he said. A herd of 22 elephants had entered the panchayat late on Tuesday, Domchanch forest range officer Ravindra Kumar said. He added that the herd was being driven away by a forest team. “There was a brick klin unit on the way. The owner had been informed about the movement of the elephants but he didn’t convey it to his workers. There were 20 laborers asleep in the area. As the elephants arrived, they fled but a 40-year-old worker came under attack of a jumbo and he died on the spot,” Kumar said. He said the second incident took place at another brick klin unit area where workers were asleep. “Its owner was also informed about the elephant movement. He immediately asked his workers to leave the place. However, a 12-year-old boy remained asleep there and was trampled to death,” Kumar said. The bodies have been sent for postmortem examination. The process of providing compensation to the victims’ families has been initiated, Kumar added. The Jharkhand government provides Rs 4 lakh as compensation in case of death due to elephant attacks.
