A 30-year-old farmer is suspected to have been trampled to death by elephants in Badasantpur village under Tangi police station in Cuttack district, police said today.
The mutilated body of Pramod Khuntia was found this morning from the outskirts of the village.
Local people said Pramod was killed by a herd of elephants when he was returning from his paddy field last night and demanded compensation for his family.
Forest officials who examined the body said prima facie it appeared that the victim was trampled by elephants.
A forest official said at least 22 elephants were seen moving at a nearby area close to Khuntuni range on Thursday evening.
"After getting the post-mortem report and following police enquiry, we will be able to tell the exact cause of the death of the victim," said Cuttack DFO Sudarshan Behera.
The foresters have some doubt about movement of elephants in the spot from the body was found.
Besides, the DFO said, there has been no crop loss due to the movement of the elephants in the area.
Herds of elephants from Kapilash range under Dhenkanal division and from Khuntuni range in Athgarh division are frequenting to the area for last few weeks. The villagers last month had submitted a memorandum to the DFO demanding compensation for the crop loss caused by these elephants.
After Thursday night's incident, forest officials have stepped up patrolling in most of the bordering villages close to Khuntuni range as elephants from this forest range are seen very close to human habitats.
