Rourkela/Baripada: A youth was killed after being trampled on by an elephant, while a herd of jumbos wreaked havoc at a village in Mayurbhanj district.

Santosh Bhaisal, 32, of Kendudihi village in Kinjrikela forest section of Ujwalpur range in Sundargarh district was killed by an elephant. The village is situated on the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. "The border is stone's throw from his home," said a forest department official.

Bhaisal had gone to meet his relatives on the other side of the border on September 14. He was returning alone on Saturday evening when a herd, which regularly wreaks havocs in the area, found him alone.

He tried to run away, but was caught by a jumbo that trampled him to death, according to a witness.

His body was found late on Sunday afternoon nearly 200m from the road inside the jungle in Chhattisgarh. Forest officials from Chhattisgarh soon reached the spot and gave an initial Rs 20,000 to his family for cremation after autopsy.

Sundargarh divisional forest officer Arun K. Mishra said: "He was killed in Chhattisgarh and for that the compensation would be paid by the Chhattisgarh government. His family received the body and my staff members were present during the cremation."

In Mayurbhanj, herds of jumbos have become the cause of sleepless nights for people as they wreak havoc at Betnati in Baripada forest division on the borders with Jharkhand.

Forty-one elephants divided into three groups are causing damage in the area. One group of 28 elephants is wreaking havoc in Dugarpur reserve forest, while another group of 10 jumbos have stationed themselves in KCPur forest. Three more elephants are wandering in Chitrada reserve forest region, causing significant damage to crops and dwelling units.

At least five houses were damaged while several acres of paddy fields are destroyed, villagers alleged.

Betnati range officer Ghanshyam Singh said 28 elephants strayed into Betnati from Bengal. The other two groups are from Similipal.