Jhargram reports 7th fatal elephant attack in 2 months
Times of India | 13 June 2026
Jhargram: Another fatal elephant attack was reported in Jhargram on Friday morning, taking the number of deaths in such incidents in the district over the past two months to seven.
The latest incident occurred at Ramchandrapur village under Nayagram police station in the Kharagpur forest division. The victim, identified by forest department and police sources as 65-year-old Kangali Nayek, was a resident of the village.
According to local sources, an elephant crossed the Subarnarekha River from the Sankrail side earlier in the morning and entered the Ramchandrapur area of Nayagram. Nayek reportedly encountered the elephant while heading to a bamboo grove near his house as part of his morning routine. The animal allegedly grabbed him with its trunk and threw him to the ground.
Residents claimed Nayek died on the spot. Forest dept personnel later recovered his body from the bamboo grove.
Later in the evening, the forest dept handed over a cheque of Rs 5 lakh to the victim’s wife through MOS horticulture & agriculture and food processing, Amiya Kisku, at Chandabila range. DFO, Kharagpur and CCF, western circle, were also present.
Elephant attacks have claimed seven lives in Jhargram between April and June. Earlier, on Sunday, 32-year-old Mousumi Mallik, a homemaker from Pranabpally, was killed at Shimuldanga under Jhargram police station while collecting cashew seeds in a plantation. On Thursday, state Animal Resources Development and Fisheries minister Rajesh Mahato and Jhargram MLA Laxmikanta Sahu handed over a compensation cheque of Rs 5 lakh to her husband at the Jhargram range office. Jhargram DFO Umar Imam was also present.
A similar incident took place last year near Ramchandrapur, when Shanti Bera of Bachhurkhoar was killed by an elephant while returning home on his bicycle.