An elephant in eastern India killed a 70-year-old woman and then returned to her
funeral to trample her corpse.
The incident occurred in Odisha state on Thursday, police said.
Maya Murmu was at a tube well-drawing water in Mayurbhanj district’s Raipal village
when the wild elephant appeared out of nowhere.
Authorities said it had strayed from the Dalma wildlife sanctuary, nearly 200km from
Mayurbhanj.
After being trampled, Ms Murmu was taken to hospital where she died from her
injuries, police officer Lopamudra Nayak was quoted as saying to the Press Trust of
India news agency.
Reports said when family members gathered for the funeral and were in the middle of
performing last rites, the same elephant appeared, lifted Ms Murmu’s body from the
funeral pyre and trampled it again, as shocked mourners looked on.
The family were only able to go ahead with the ceremony after the elephant left. It
remains unclear if the animal harmed anyone else present.
Conflicts between elephants and humans are a common occurrence in Odisha.
Intensive industrial activity in the mineral-rich state has increased human
encroachment in animal habitats, increasing chances of encounters between villagers
and elephants.
A worrying trend in the state has also been a spike in the number of unnatural deaths
of elephants. At least 1,356 elephants have died in Odisha since 2000-01, according to
data provided by the state’s chief wildlife warden, reported the IANS news agency.
At least 42 elephant deaths were recorded in the state in just seven months from
April to October last year.
Many other incidents of human-elephant conflict have been reported from other
parts of the country.
