Jumbo chase: Close shave for three persons

NT Correspondent

Mysuru

The occupants of a Maruti Omni car had a close shave when a tusker chased the vehicle near Devaramane in Mudigere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district on Thursday.

 According to information reaching here, the incident oc[1]curred when three persons were travelling in a car near Devaramane. At that time, a wild tusker came from behind the trees and chased the van. In a bid to escape from the attack, the driver drove fast and as a result the van plunged into an open drain. They then jumped out of the vehicle and fled the scene. The front portion of the van has been badly damaged. After hearing the screams of the van occupants, villagers came to the spot and chased away the jumbo.

Meanwhile, a herd of 13 elephants have stationed themselves near Haandi, Vijayanagar,Hosapete and neighbouring villages in the taluk. They have raided coffee and arecanut plantations and damaged crops worth lakhs of rupees. The villagers vent their anger on the forest department for its failure to check the menace of jumbos in the taluk.