On Saturday night in the Ganjam district's Khetamundali village, a tusker crushed to death a farmer who was protecting his standing paddy crop.
The deceased was identified as 48-year-old Pabitra Patra of Khetamundali within Tarasing police limits.
According to sources, Patra and other farmers left their homes during the night to protect their standing paddy crops from wild animals. A tusker wandered into the farmland late at night to gorge on the paddy crops. The elephant fled in the direction of Patra's field after being pursued by the farmers.
Patra had woken by then from the screams of the other farmers. The tusker crushed him to death in his field before he had a chance to run for safety. He was taken to the Bhanjanagar hospital in a hurry, but the doctors there pronounced him dead.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sudarsan Behera of North Ghumusur arrived in the area on Sunday after being alerted. The DFO guaranteed that Patra's family will receive compensation as per norms.
Patra's body was sent to Bhanjanagar hospital for an autopsy after Tarasing police filed a report of an unauthorized death.
According to sources, a herd of 17 elephants has been seen roaming the area over the past few days. The local farmers are protecting their agricultural fields at night to protect the standing crops because the pachyderms frequently entered the countryside in search of food.
The local farmers urged the DFO to take the required steps to keep the elephants out of their agricultural lands.
