Bachna Devi, a resident of Gumaniwala village in the Rishikesh sub-division, had gone to the forest to collect firewood when she was attacked by the female pachyderm, they said.
As the woman fell on the ground, the elephant crushed her head, the officials said, adding that her body was found by forest guards 3 km away from the Gaula forest outpost.
It seems that the elephant, which had recently delivered, attacked the woman out of a sense of insecurity, they said.