Picture of the wild elephant captured by an eyewitness on his mobile

Cuttack, Dec. 11: Panic struck a group of local residents after they spotted a wild elephant near Hadiapatha, situated near an island along the Mahanadi river on the northern fringes of the city today.

It was for the first time a pachyderm was spotted close to any human settlement in Cuttack city.

Official sources said a herd of around 11 elephants were earlier spotted near the paper mill at Choudwar last night. It is suspected that one of the adult elephants crossed the river and reached Hadiapatha near Sea Shore Boating Club today. The elephant herd spotted near Choudwar today trampled one person to death, a forest official said.

The victim, Hemant Nayak, 33, a mason, was attacked by the herd near Choudwar paper mill at around 6am. He was rushed to SCB Medical College and Hospital, but succumbed to injuries soon after. A compensation of Rs 2 lakh has also been declared for the bereaved family.

Although it is suspected that the wild elephant had swam across the Mahanadi in search of food, a forest official said it had got separated from its herd and returned to the forest in the evening.

“It is not the normal route for wild elephants as they are usually spotted near Dhabaleswar ghat. However, the elephant has returned to the forest area near Choudwar,” said Cuttack divisional forest officer Sudarshan Behera.

Local residents said that they first saw the elephant while it was trying to swim across the shore along the Mahanadi and later entered into Hadiapatha near the intake well.

“Initially, I thought it was a buffalo trying to cross the river. But when the animal touched the shore, we came to know that it was an elephant,” said Subrat Pradhan, a mechanic. According to Pradhan, there were nearly 15 people at the construction site when the elephant was spotted near Hadiapatha.

Later, they had informed the local forest officials, who then reached the spot after an hour.

“I was nearly 200 meters away from the elephant when it reached the shore. Though I was initially scared, but I managed to click a picture of the elephant on my mobile phone,” said Venkatesh Kilana, an engineer of a construction company.