Baripada, Nov. 10: Tension prevailed at Upper Bijatola after a 58-year-old man was trampled to death by a herd of elephants last night.

The body was found near Dhusura hills under the Rairangpur forest division of Mayurbhanj district.

The deceased, identified as Birisa Murmu, was a resident of Upper Bijatola. He had gone to chase away the herd, which had entered the area last evening. The herd consisted of about 20 elephants, including three tuskers and four calves.

Local residents today staged a demonstration and demanded Rs 10 lakh compensation for the family members of the deceased.

Rairangpur divisional forest officer Arun Kumar Swain said: "The victim was in the group that was chasing away the herd. While all have come back, it is yet to be known how he was killed by the elephants."

"This herd had sneaked into our area through Badampahad and Suleipat. They have been camping since Wednesday," he said.

Yesterday afternoon, another herd of about 30 elephants had killed a 60-year-old Anam Munda at Raruan under the Karanjia forest division of the district.

"The deceased's families are being given Rs 3 lakh compensation," said Karanjia divisional forest officer P.K. Behera.

The elephants enter Odisha through different routes, mainly through Deuli and Rasgobindpur from Bengal, during the harvest season. The forest department has dug trenches and set up solar fence, and has deployed a horse squad at the border.

Calf dies

A baby elephant died at Ganeshkhola jungle in Dhenkanal last night.

Forest department officials had a hard time recovering the body as her mother and another one resisted their attempt to come close to her.

The calf is about two months old and the cause of the death is yet to be known. Some days ago, another elephant was reported dead near this place.

"As of now, we cannot say what led to the death of the calf. The remains have been sent for scientific test," said Dhenkanal district forest officer P.K. Sahu.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY B.K. ROUT