SARLAHI: A middle-aged man was killed by a wild elephant in Sarlahi's Pathharkot VDC in the Bhawar area on Friday morning. Thule Rimal, 35, a resident of Pathharikot VDC-5 was killed in the elephant's attack.

Locals said that the elephant first demolished Rimal's house and threw him out of the house while he was asleep.

Meanwhile, Haridevi Ghimire, an onlooker said that Rimal fell on the ground with a thud as the elephant hurled him with its trunk before neighbors could arrive for his rescue.

Earlier, the elephant had damaged houses of Bal Bahadur Ghising and Bishnu Sapkota. The number of those killed in elephant attacks has now gone up to 14, the locals lamented. Purna Thapa, a local journalist, said that the elephant attacked people as soon as it saw them. He said that locals of Sarlahi's Pattharkot, Narayankhola, and Ranigunj among others were living under terror.

Likewise, Dhruba Gautam, former area member, District Development Committee, Sarlahi, however, maintained that people were being attacked as they had encroached upon the animals' natural track across the jungles. "Animals have been barging into houses as they come on their natural track," he said.

Nevertheless, Shyam Bahadur Khatri, SP, District police Office said that a police team had been mobilized in the area to check the elephant attacks. Furthermore, it has been reported that a four-member team led by Dr Kamal Gaire from the Chitwan National Park is to set off on the call of District Forest Office, Sarlahi