Two men were trampled to death by wild elephants in eastern India who were then chased down by forest officials on Friday (January 4).<br /> <br />The men were trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants at separate places in Chhattisgarh state's Surajpur district, officials said on Saturday. <br /><br />BP Singh - a Divisional Forest Officer (Surajpur division) - said both the incidents occurred near Surajpur town on Friday, <br /><br />One of the incidents took place near Shivprasad Nagar village where 52-year-old Ramlal Jaiswal was trampled when he had gone to relieve himself in a nearby farm. <br /><br />Subsequently, the herd went on a rampage and damaged three houses and a motorcycle, said the authorities.<br /><br />Forest personnel and villagers later chased down the herd in an attempt to disperse them into the forest.<br /><br />Consequently, an elderly man named Ram Lakhan Sahu, 70, came face to face with the rampaging herd who killed him on the spot, BP Singh said. <br /><br />Kin of the deceased persons were provided immediate relief of 25,000 rupees each, while further remaining compensation will be given upon completion of all formalities, the forest officer added.
