Jumbo kills 16 people in 12 days in Jharkhand
Ranchi, Feb 21: A tusker has allegedly killed 16 people in five Jharkhand districts in the past 12 days with four in a single block of Ranchi district on Tuesday, forest officials said.
This has prompted the Ranchi administration to impose prohibitory order under Section 144 Cr PC in Itki block prohibiting gathering more than five people to restrict further casualties, Ranchi divisional forest officer Srikant Verma said.
Villagers of Itki block have been asked to remain inside their houses, specially during sunrise and sunset. They have also been asked not to go close any elephant, he said.
"Villagers are gathering near the elephant, which caused one death today. In a bid to stop them, Section 144 Cr PC has been imposed by Ranchi administration in Itki block today," Verma told PTI.
The forest department is taking all possible steps, including engaging an expert team from West Bengal to tackle the elephant, which is suspected to have killed 16 people in Hazaribag, Ramgarh, Chatra, Lohardaga and Ranchi districts in the past 12 days, the principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) Sasikar Samanta said.
"We have constituted a committee comprising forest officers of four divisions and headed by the Ranchi conservator of forest. The committee will determine if the same elephant has killed all the 16 people. If the committee certifies it, we will take a decision in a day or two," he told PTI.
"It seems that the elephant is behaving abruptly. The committee will examine if the elephant is deliberately killing people or the people are themselves responsible for their death," Samanta said.
The elephant had reportedly trampled to death four persons, including two women, in Lohardaga district on Monday and one on Sunday. It appeared to have entered Ranchi's Itki block, about 25 km from the capital city, on Monday night and reportedly killed four persons, including two women and injured one on Tuesday morning, Verma said.
The Ranchi DFO said that it is suspected that the same elephant killed five people in Hazaribag about 12 days ago and then moved to Ramgarh, where it trampled to death person one in Gola area. The animal then allegedly moved on to Chatra and killed another person.
"We are examining the photographs and other aspects to determine if it is the same elephant," he said.
Lohardaga divisional forest officer (DFO) Arvind Kumar had told PTI that an expert team from Bankura district of West Bengal was engaged to drive away the tusker deep into the forest. Asked, he said there are various methods to identify an elephant. "We have a tracking system in which every district gives an input on elephant movement in their respective areas. Besides, we also have photos and videos of the jumbos. This elephant has tusks and the one which caused casualties in Hazaribagh, Lohardagga and Ranchi is also a tusker.
"We will match the height and other parameters to determine whether it is the same one," he added.
A forest department official said that an immediate relief of Rs 25,000 is being given to the kin of each of the deceased. Rs 3.75 lakh compensation will be provided to each victim's family after completing the mandatory government procedures.
Man-elephant conflicts have spiked in Jharkhand with reports stating that 133 people have died in jumbo attacks in 2021-22, a steep climb from 84 in 2020-21.
The union ministry of environment, forest and climate in reply to a RTI application recently stated that 462 people have died in man-elephant conflicts in five years since 2017 in Jharkhand, including 133 in 2021-22.
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B'luru: "Least priority, shifted late," says brother of patient who died in Ramaiah hospital fire
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Bengaluru: Hours after a fire broke out at the Critical Care Unit (CCU) of the MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital on New BEL Road on Thursday, a 34-year-old patient, Sujay Sujathan Panicker, tragically passed away. His family has accused the hospital authorities of negligence, which they claim led to his death.
The fire at Ramaiah Memorial Hospital is believed to have been caused by a short circuit. Initial reports suggested that there were no casualties in the incident.
Sujay, originally from Kollam in Kerala, had been residing in Bengaluru with his family since 2004. He was undergoing treatment for pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and H1N1 since September 1 at the hospital.
Sujay's wife and father released a video accusing the hospital of negligence. In the video, his wife, Rohini Jayan, alleged that the hospital authorities took no action against those responsible for the fire.
Sujay’s brother, Sujin Sujathan Panicker, speaking to Vartha Bharathi, detailed the family’s ordeal. He said that despite his sister-in-law requesting assistance during the chaos, the hospital staff pushed her away, assuring her that all patients had been safely evacuated to the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). However, Sujin claims that his sister-in-law did not see Sujay being shifted.
He further stated, “Sometime later, when a doctor arrived, she (Rohini) inquired about Sujay. It was only after the doctor questioned the staff that they rushed to evacuate him.”
Sujin added that by the time his brother was evacuated, 50 minutes had already passed since the fire broke out. "He was still inside, while all the other patients were taken out first. He was admitted to the hospital with a respiratory illness, yet he was given the least priority during the chaos. He was the last one to be evacuated."
He also claimed that Rohini had already noticed that Sujay’s condition had deteriorated and believed he had passed away, though the hospital authorities did not officially declare his death.
Sujin further stated that the hospital authorities called him and his father to the board room at the 8th floor of the hospital, where senior executives and doctors who had treated Sujay were present “During the interaction they (hospital authorities) claimed that Sujay was still alive and that his condition had worsened amid the smoke and that his chances of survival were less, which was not true.”
"Despite staff being present to evacuate my brother, they remained negligent. The fire broke out at 1:00 p.m., so why did it take 50 minutes to get him out? He was in a corner bed in the CCU, and it seemed they either overlooked the room or ignored it. Even after repeated requests, it took them 50 minutes to evacuate him," Sujin added.
Sujin also expressed concerns that the hospital authorities might attempt to influence the investigation. "They can influence anyone—any hospital, any report."
At the time of the interview, Sujin stated that neither anyone from the government nor from the health department had contacted the family.
A complaint has been filed in connection with the incident at the Sadashivanagar police station. "The statements of the family members have been recorded, and an investigation into the matter is underway. An FIR has been lodged under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Section 106 (causing death due to negligence)," said Sadashivanagar police station Sub-Inspector.
Meanwhile, officials from Ramaiah Memorial Hospital were unavailable for comment.
