Three people were killed and one woman was injured in elephant attacks in the Gola forest area of Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district on Friday, with officials suspecting the involvement of the same herd that has been linked to multiple deaths in the region over the past couple of months.

Yugal Bhuiyan of Kuju village and Dheeraj Bhuiyan of Talatand, both 25 years old, worked at a brick kiln in Banda village under Gola police station limits. When they went out into an open area, they were both chased and trampled by a herd of five elephants, officials said.

In a separate incident, 73-year-old Shamdev Sao of Murpa village was killed while collecting mahua (Madhuca longifolia) flowers in the forest by the same herd.

Gola police said that a woman was also injured in an elephant attack in the Dhoradhoria area, and that according to eyewitnesses, the elephants roamed around in the area, chasing people and creating panic.

Ramgarh DFO Nitish Kumar said the deaths took place in two separate incidents, with two adult men killed in one instance and an elderly man in another. “The elephants were part of a herd of around five animals, likely the same group that has been moving in the region since January. The herd had moved towards Lugu hills for about one-and-a-half months and returned to the area again,” he said.

According to police, villagers alleged that information about elephant movement was available in advance, but no additional patrolling or alert was issued.

The Forest Department has provided immediate assistance of Rs 25,000 each to the families of the deceased and said further compensation would be given. A police officer said the brick kiln operator announced Rs 40,000 each to the families of the two men who worked there, but that the family members refused to accept the amount.

Villagers protested after the incident and did not allow the bodies to be taken immediately. Police later took custody of the bodies and sent them for postmortem.

The DFO said the latest elephant sighting was reported from Sutri village in Gola block and appealed to residents not to sleep in the open. He said migrant and informal workers at brick kilns often sleep outside, which increases the risk. He also cautioned against going to forests early in the morning for activities such as collecting mahua flowers.

Police have detained the brick kiln operator for questioning.