Hunt launched to capture wild elephant that killed 2 in K'taka

Dakshina Kannada, Feb 21

Karnataka forest authorities on Tuesday launched an operation to capture a wild elephant that killed two persons, including a young woman, in Kadaba region of this district.

Five tamed elephants have been roped in for the operation.

Drone technology is being used to track the elephant which is attacking humans.

Meanwhile, the district authorities have announced Rs 15 lakh compensation each for families of two victims. They also promised a job for the brother of the deceased young woman.

The incident had taken place on Monday. Irate locals accused the authorities of lackadaisical attitude despite their repeated complaints about the elephant menace for the past five years.

They alleged that in spite of several submissions to forest and district authorities, no action was taken.

Last week, a local youth had warned the villagers against wandering wild elephants on Facebook and also urged the authorities to take action. He had also alerted the Village Panchayat but nothing happened, locals complained.

The locals also took Minister for Fisheries and Ports S. Angara, who visited the spot and the village on Monday night, to task and questioned the negligence of the authorities. In turn, minister Angara questioned the forest authorities and warned them of action.

Elephants from Nagarahole and Dubare camps have been roped for the operation to capture the wild tusker.

Ranjitha, who worked at a milk society in Peradka and a local resident Ramesh Rai were trampled and killed by the elephant on Monday.

According to authorities, Ranjitha was attacked by the elephant when she was going to work from her residence.

Rai, who happened to be present in the spot, was also attacked by the raging elephant. While he died on the spot, Ranjitha succumbed to her injuries at a hospital.