Bokaro Elephant Herd Claims Two More Lives, Death Toll Rises to Five in Three Days
A persistent elephant herd has struck again in Bokaro district, killing an elderly man and his five-year-old grandson in a brutal Friday night attack. This latest incident brings the death toll from the herd's rampage over the past three days to five, with three others critically injured, according to forest officials.
Details of the Latest Fatal Encounter
The tragic event occurred around 8:15 PM on Friday in Gangpur village, located under the Mhuatand police station in Gomia block. The deceased have been identified as Somar Sao, aged 50, and his young grandson, Aman Kumar. The injured victims include Somar's granddaughter Rashi Kumari (11), grandson Rahul Kumar (7), and a relative, Shanti Devi (60). All three were admitted to Ramgarh Sadar Hospital with serious injuries.
Local accounts describe a harrowing scene. Somar was sitting under a tree near his house when the elephants arrived. At the time, the village was plunged into darkness due to a power outage. In the absence of electricity, several elephants reportedly picked up Somar and hurled him to the ground multiple times. The animals then dragged him towards the house where his grandchildren and daughter-in-law were present.
Immediate Response and Ongoing Crisis Management
Upon receiving the report, a Quick Response Team (QRT) from the forest department rushed to the scene in an attempt to drive the elephants back into the forest. Efforts to track and control the movement of the herd are still ongoing. District Commissioner Ajay Nath Jha outlined the escalated measures being taken.
"The services of a 16-member elephant management team from Bankura in West Bengal have been engaged," Jha stated. "We have intensified night patrols and drone surveillance. Steps are also being taken to ensure an uninterrupted power supply in sensitive areas. Compensation is being provided to the affected families."
A Pattern of Lethal Attacks by the Same Herd
This is not an isolated incident. Just a day earlier, on Thursday morning around 3 AM, the same herd—comprising approximately five elephants—trampled three elderly individuals to death in the adjoining Barki Punnu village. The victims were identified as Gangwa Karmali (65), his wife Kamli Devi (62), and his sister-in-law Bhagiya Devi (65). Two other women were injured in that attack.
The herd's violent history extends further back. On January 25, it killed a person who was trying to save his son. Earlier, on January 18, a vegetable seller was killed after being pulled from his vehicle in the Gomia block. Bokaro Divisional Forest Officer, IFS Sandeep Sinde, confirmed that the same herd, which has been roaming the Barki Punnu area for several days, is responsible for all these attacks and deaths.
Power Outages Exacerbate the Human-Elephant Conflict
Former Gomia MLA Lambodar Mahto highlighted a critical factor in these tragedies: the lack of electricity. "There was no electricity in the village at the time of the incident," Mahto said. "Power outages in areas prone to elephant attacks are exacerbating the problem. If there had been electricity, the villagers could have spotted the elephants, or the animals would not have entered the village. In an earlier incident of an elephant attack, there was also no power in the village."
The Broader Context of Jharkhand's Wildlife Crisis
This series of attacks underscores a severe and ongoing human-elephant conflict in Jharkhand. Notably, over 28 people have been killed in elephant attacks across the state since January alone. In a particularly grim statistic, a single rogue tusker was responsible for claiming 20 lives in West Singhbhum district.
The scale of the crisis is vast. According to a government report, man-elephant conflicts in Jharkhand have resulted in 477 fatalities since the 2019-20 financial year. The situation in Bokaro represents a microcosm of this larger, deadly struggle between human settlements and wildlife, now tragically marked by the loss of a young child and multiple elderly villagers in a matter of days.
