Dhenkanal: Two persons, including a woman, were trampled to death by an elephant that strayed into Icchabatipur village in Kamakshyanagar of Dhenkanal district early on Friday.
The deceased were identified Surendra Nayak and Babita Behera.
Sources said the elephant picked Nayak up with its truck and flung him to the ground in front of his house. He suffered severe fractures on his shoulders and later succumbed to the injuries. The animal then moved to a nearby field, where it attacked Behera.
Following the death of two persons, villagers blocked the road at Pandua-Jiral by burning tyres to protest against the forest department’s failure to check the movement of wild elephants in agriculture fields. They demanded deployment of more forest guards in the area and compensation to the family of the deceased.
The agitators lifted the blockade after police and forest officials assured them that they would look into their demands.