HT Correspondent
JORHAT, Jan 5: A woman from a tea estate adjacent to Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary under Mariani Range of Jorhat Forest Division, was reportedly trampled to death by a herd of elephants when she along with four other women on Saturday afternoon had gone inside the sanctuary to collect firewood.
According to a Forest department source in Mariani, four of the women managed to flee from the spot but one identified as Anjana Samasi (54) could not escape. Her body with with one of her hands torn apart from the body and bearing several injury marks was found late on Saturday night by the Forest department that carried out a serach.
Mariani MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi too had accompanied the team. The body was sent to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital for conducting the post mortem. The source said that going by the account given by the surviving four women from Dahingeapar Tea Estate, who managed to flee from the spot, the deceased died from elephant attack. Meanwhile, a vendor who sold goods by ferrying them on a bicycle and was passing through the sanctuary on Saturday afternoon also sighted the herd of jumbos and luckily managed to flee. Mahabir Mahato of Mariani town had his bicycle and goods damaged by the wild animals.