Bhubaneswar, Aug.13: Forest officials staged a demonstration in front of the DFO (divisional forest officer) office today to protest the death of a member of the elephant drive squad.

Pati Dhibar was killed by a herd of elephants last night in Kuanrmunda forest range under Rourkela forest division.

"We demand justice for the deceased and our safety and security," said Umesh Badaik, a guard in the squad. The casual forest workers are protesting as they apprehend that they will not get any benefits because they are not regular government employees.

"Earlier, we used to draw a salary from the forest department but eight months ago we were brought under the service provider Group 5 and since then we are getting Rs 5,175 and the rest is being deducted for ESI (employees' state insurance) and PF (provident fund). So far, we have not received any number or card," said a guard.

However, the service provider of Group 5 Abinash Sahu said: "All of them have a unique number and I have been depositing their dues regularly for the past eight months... you can check with the DFO office." Dhibar, 37, a resident of Barkote, nearly 100 kilometres from Rourkela, was killed by a herd of elephants as he could not cross a barbed wire fencing in a paddy field.

Last night, the squad heard about the entry of a herd of five elephants. They rushed to the spot and encircled the herd near Gobara village. The herd was almost driven out of the area and Dhibar was following the herd. "Suddenly, someone shined a torchlight at the herd and it turned back. Dhibar came to their notice and he was killed on the spot as he could not jump over the barbed wire fencing," said Kuanrmunda forest ranger Saroj Kumar Das.

After post-mortem of the deceased, the guards brought the body to the DFO office at Panposh and started protesting. There are 120 temporary elephant squad guards working under the Rourkela forest division. Almost all of them were present during the demonstration.