Bhubaneswar, Oct 22 (IANS): The dead body of a 62-year-old person was found from Nelunga reserved forest in Keonjhar district in Odisha on Sunday.

Police identified the deceased as Bhagirathi Mahant who was the resident of Basudevpur village under Keonjhar Sadar police station.

“The deceased relatives and some villagers spotted Bhagirathi lying dead in the forest Sunday morning. Police and forest officials reached the spot and sent the body to hospital for autopsy. From the initial circumstances, Bhagirathi is suspected to have been trampled to death by a wild elephant. The villagers also informed us that a herd of 18 pachyderms were spotted in the forest area two days back, “said IIC, Keonjhar Sadar police station.

Bhagirathi, a cow herd, who had gone to the forest with the bovines October 20 did not return home till late Saturday night.

The worried family members and villagers came across his body while searching for him in the nearby forest after two days.