In what will come across as a really startling development, an elephant in India killed a 70-year-old woman and then returned to her funeral to trample her corpse.
The woman, Maya Murmu was out drawing water in Raipal village, Eastern India when the escaped elephant came out of nowhere and trampled her on Thursday morning, June 9.
She later died in hospital of her injuries, Rasgovindpur police station inspector Lopamudra Nayak said.
Later in the evening, the elephant returned as the 70-year-old’s body lay on top of her funeral pyre.
It took her body down, trampled her again, threw her around, and went off into the night, according to the Press Trust of India.
The elephant is believed to have travelled from the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary in the state of Jharkhand, 200km away from Raipal in Odisha state, Mayurbhanj district.
According to local reports, the Independent said, the second trampling happened while Ms. Murmu’s family were performing the last rites. Despite the unfortunate scene, the family did go ahead with the ceremony after the elephant left.
Around 100 people in India are killed each year by elephants, though the number can be as high as 300, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
