Forest staff assure ex gratia to kin of W S’bhum man killed by rogue elephant

Chaibasa: Ten days after the rogue elephant, which has now slipped into the Odisha side, trampled to death a 40-year-old villager, identified as Prakash Tanti, forest officials on Monday visited his family members and assured them of financial support.In their initial aid, the officials provided Tanti’s family of four a sack of rice, a torchlight and a nominal amount. The officials took the necessary documents from the family for the disbursement of compensation. The state govt currently provides Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those who are killed in wild animal attacks. TOI had on Monday highlighted the plight of Tanti’s family.Kharpusi forest range officer Jitendra Prasad Singh and Saranda forest range officer Shankar Bhagat, who visited the family, said they were provided with an immediate relief of Rs 25,000 for carrying out Tanti’s last rites. “Another aid of Rs 5,000 will be provided to the family very soon. We have collected documents from the victim’s family to process the compensation,” Singh added.The elephant, which killed 20 people, including a forester from West Bengal, slipped into the forest in adjoining Keonjhar district in Odisha, where it has been staying for over 72 hours.Tanti, a resident of Tilkoti village under Kharpusi panchayat in Majhgaon block (nearly 110 km from Chaibasa) of West Singhbhum district, had stepped out of his house on the morning of Jan 2 and was answering nature's call in a nearby bush when the killer jumbo attacked him. Tanti, a farmer and the sole breadwinner of his family, was killed on the spot. He is survived by his wife, Saju, two daughters, and his mother.