Elephant Kills Woman, Returns to Funeral to Attack Her Corpse The Goa Spotlight June 21, 2022 Indians were shocked by an elephant’s “revenge” story against an elderly woman in Odisha, in the east of the country. The wild animal attacked the woman in a village and caused her death. As if that wasn’t enough, at the victim’s wake the animal returned with a herd and destroyed the ceremony and trampled again on the Indian’s body. Maya Murmu, 68, was collecting water in the village of Raipai, located in the district of Mayurbhanj, when she was surprised by a herd of elephants that came towards her. She tried to run away, but one of the elephants took the lead and trampled her, according to The Times of India. She was rushed to the hospital, but died from her serious injuries. The woman would be from a group of hunters who would have killed a baby elephant. Days later, Murmu’s family brought his body home for funeral arrangements, which would take place the same night. However, one more unusual event occurred. During the victim’s cremation ceremony, a herd of 10 elephants emerged from the forest and invaded the property, leaving residents in a panic. Due to the turmoil, they abandoned Maya Murmu’s body at the scene. At that moment, one of the elephants attacked the woman’s corpse, picking up her body and throwing it into the air. According to witnesses, the corpse was again “crushed” by the animals. The elephants destroyed not only Maya Murmu’s wake, but also her house and two neighboring homes. The attack also extended to Maya’s farm goats, which were trampled by the herd. None of them survived. Although the incident took place brutally and instantly, no villagers were injured. In an interview with The Times of India, one of the witnesses described the moment of panic. “We were terrified after witnessing the herd of elephants on Thursday night. We’ve never had such a fierce herd of elephants before.” After the herd of elephants left the area and headed for the forest, Maya Murmu’s family was able to resume the ceremony. Elephants are known among Indians as peaceful and docile creatures. However, many people were intrigued by the level of violence rarely seen among animals. On social media, many of them presented theories about the cause of this behavior. “Whatever that woman did to that elephant is the biggest mystery of the decade,” one person said on Twitter. Information from the Indian TV network Kanak News indicates that the region of Odisha, where the incident took place, is the scene of tensions between humans and wild elephants, due to the action of miners working in the area, destroying forests, endangering the habitat and the survival of the fauna in search of natural resources. There is also speculation that the herd leader attacked Maya Muru more than once. The victim was part of a group of hunters that killed the baby elephant, according to Indian media, and so the animal’s attack on the woman was seen as a form of retaliation. https://thegoaspotlight.com/2022/06/20/elephant-kills-woman-returns-to-funeral-to-attack-her-corpse/