Sullia : Wild tusker tramples farmer to death

Sullia : Wild tusker tramples farmer to death

Mangalore Today News Network

Sullia, Feb 23, 2013: Wild elephant menace which has been giving sleepless nights to residents of some villages in the taluk, turned tragic on February 20, Wednesday night, when a pachyderm which had strayed to the village trampled a farmer to death at Nalkuru Devakalla   near Harihara Pallatadka.

The deceased is Ram Bhat (49). The elephant is learnt to have attacked Bhat when he had been to his plantation at around 7.15 pm to turn on the sprinkler.

                      

According to reports, the pachyderm which was first spotted in a neighbour’s plantation,  ran helter skelter on hearing the sound of crackers and rushed into Bhat’s plantation only to trample him to death.

The tragedy came to light when Bhat’s wife Vanishree went to the plantation in search of her husband. The elephant had also damaged arecanut, coconut trees and banana plantations. The forest department has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to Bhat’s family, Bhat was the sole bread winner.

Senior forest officials have  visited the spot when locals urged them to see to it that  the wild elephant menace was checked.