Raipur
Three women were tragically killed in separate elephant attacks in the villages of Raliya and Khairbhavna within the Katghora forest division of Chhattisgarh’s Korba district. The victims were identified as Gayatri Devi Rathore, 48, from Raliya village, and Surja Bai Chouhan, 40, and Teej Kunwar Chouhan, 60, from Khairbhavna village.
The first incident occurred around 7 a.m. on Thursday in Raliya village when Gayatri Devi Rathore unexpectedly encountered a lone male elephant. The elephant, before she could react, lifted her with its trunk and violently threw her to the ground. Locals rushed her to New Korba Hospital, but she succumbed to her injuries, according to Katghora Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Kumar Nishant.
Later that evening, around 8 p.m., the same elephant claimed the lives of Surja Bai Chouhan and Teej Kunwar Chouhan in Khairbhavna village, approximately 17 kilometers from Raliya. The women, fearing that the elephant might enter their home, ventured outside in search of a safer place, only to encounter the animal.
DFO Nishant explained that the forest department had been tracking the movement of a lone elephant believed to have wandered in from the Balouda range of the Janjgir-Champa forest division. “Despite our efforts to trace the elephant and guide it back to the forest, the tragedy occurred. This incident underscores the ongoing human-elephant conflict in the region,” he said.
The elephant was first spotted on the main road near Raliya market, where it encountered Gayatri Devi Rathore. After the incident in Raliya, it was later seen in Khendri village, and it was anticipated to be heading towards the Korba forest division. Joint teams from the Katghora and Korba forest divisions are actively monitoring the elephant’s movements.
As of Friday, the elephant was last observed in the Janjgir-Champa forest division. Forest department teams are working to drive the elephant back into the forest to prevent further incidents.
In the wake of the attacks, the DFO announced that immediate relief of ₹25,000 has been provided to the families of each deceased woman, as per government provisions. Additionally, the state government offers a compensation of ₹6 lakh for loss of life in such incidents. The families will soon receive the remaining ₹5.75 lakh as compensation.
