ITANAGAR: A 40-year-old Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the Sunpura police station in Arunachal Pradesh’s Lohit district was attacked and killed by a wild elephant on Saturday.
Police said on Sunday that the incident occurred on a river bank while the officer was out for a walk with two friends.
Police have identified the deceased as Martin Lego.
Lohit Superintendent of Police (SP) Thuton Jamba said the three encountered the elephant around 10:30 a.m. The two friends who were with them managed to escape, but the animal caught hold of Lego and trampled him to death.
Police registered a case of unnatural death at the Sunpura police station, and the SP said officials sent the body for a postmortem. After completing the legal formalities, officials handed over the body to the family for cremation.
Jamba said the postmortem report is awaited. However, initial examinations by doctors revealed that the victim suffered multiple serious injuries from the attack, including fractured ribs, damage to the diaphragm, and perforated internal organs.
The SP stated that there have been no previous incidents of elephant attacks in the area.
He further stated that he has spoken to the Deputy Commissioner about issuing an advisory urging villagers to avoid forest or riverine areas as a precaution.
The District Forest Officer also assured that authorities will begin efforts to locate and capture the elephant.
The SP further stated that initial investigations revealed that the elephant may have been injured, which may have triggered its unusually aggressive behavior.
