An elephant crushed to death a woman while two others escaped its wrath in the Satyanarayan beat of the Rajaji National Park near Haridwar.
Pramila Devi, 45, and two other women of Prateet Nagar had gone to the forests to collect fuel and fodder when they were confronted by the elephant. It ran towards them, caught Pramila by his trunk and crushed her. The pachyderm also chased away labourers uprooting lantana weed in the area, the police said.
The elephant, which stood guard over the woman's body, was pushed back into deeper forests by forest guards who fired several rounds in the air.
Trespassing
Expressing anguish over the incident, the park officials wondered why the villagers trespassed into elephant territory despite similar incidents earlier and warnings by the authorities.
