In a tragic incident, farmer Ramakrishna Raju (55) was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants at Kothuru village in Somala mandal in the early hours of Sunday (July 27, 2025), which led to panic in the vicinity of several villages.
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As per the information received, the victim, who was on a night vigil, came under the flash attack of the herd, which emerged from the nearby thickets and strayed into the field. The sudden charge left the farmer helpless. The villagers informed the forest officials that they saw more than 16 elephants in the herd, which was found camping at a nearby waterbody in the morning hours and resorting to raiding of crops after dusk for the last three days.
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Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan condoled the farmer’s death and expressed solidarity with the family members. He announced that ex gratia would be given and directed the forest officials to step up corrective measures to prevent wild elephants from venturing into human habitations. Meanwhile, the body of the farmer was shifted to the area hospital at Somala for postmortem. A case was registered.
