Gadchiroli: In another incident of a selfie gone wrong, a wild elephant attacked and trampled a labourer to death in Gadchiroli forest of Maharashtra.
Srikant Ramchandra Satre and his two friends visited the Abapur forest in Gadchiroli on Thursday morning to see a wild elephant. But little did they know the trio wouldn’t come back together. While two of the men had a narrow escape, Shrikant was attacked and killed by the wild elephant. The incident happened during a selfie session in the forest area.
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Srikant Satre (23) had come from Navegaon with some of his friends for cable laying work in Gadchiroli district. Two days ago, on Tuesday, information about a wild elephant coming out of the Chittagong and Gadchiroli forest area was received. It was said that the elephant was roaming in the Abapur forest of the Mutnur forest area. At the same time, Shrikant and his two friends were in the area for work. In between they decided to go elephant viewing.
The trio was enjoying themselves in the forest when Srikant decided to take a selfie with the elephant from a distance. Soon the elephant attacked and crushed him. The two friends managed to save their lives and escape while Srikant had an unfortunate fate.
The victim from Chamorshi is an electrician by profession. Satre is the seventh victim of the elephant. As per records, the elephant CME3 is a huge and aggressive tusker which has entered Gadchiroli from neighbouring Chhattisgarh for the second time.
Maharashtra PCCF (Wildlife) Vivek Khandekar said, “We’ve already informed nearby villages to take precautions and posted forest staff in each village. Our field staff, along with the Rapid Rescue Team (RRT), is already active in the area and informing the locals about the presence of wild elephants and dos and don’ts while dealing with them.”
“Precautions are being followed in these villages, and forest staff are encouraging the villagers not to enter the forest. The Gadchiroli forest officials already issued an alert following the entry of CME3 in Chambharda village on the night of October 21,” said Khandekar.
The CME3 seems to be smart, as neither the locals nor the forest department personnel were aware of its entry from Chhattisgarh. According to experts, the tusker seems to have entered the district to interact with a herd of 26 elephants already moving in the Wadsa forest division.
Villagers have been advised to remain vigilant and avoid areas where the elephant has been sighted. They have also been instructed to report any sightings of the elephant to the authorities immediately so that appropriate action can be taken to prevent further incidents.
Locals have been warned not to approach the animal to capture videos or photographs, and announcements are being made in villages to stay alert. The current situation is particularly crucial as all the agricultural fields have standing paddy crops, and harvesting is set to begin next month.
