Baripada: In a tragic turn of events, a woman who was under treatment at SCB Medical in Cuttack after sustaining critical injuries in a wild elephant attack in Tanchhabani village in Mayurbhanj district passed away last night.
The deceased has been identified as Leelabati Nayak of the same village.
The victim was returning home with her father from a nearby market on December 1 when the pachyderm attack took place around 100 meters away from her home. A wild tusker pounced on her to lift with trunk and slammed to the ground. She sustained a grievous injury in the attack.
Though Leelabati was first taken to Karanjia hospital and subsequently shifted to Keonjhar DHH and finally to SCB, her condition continued to remain unstable.
People are living in an atmosphere of panic in Karanjia area for the past couple of days as a herd comprising of 22 elephants is continuously roaming in Kudurbista Forest in search of food.
Prasanta Patnaik