Rourkela, Sep 2 (PTI) A 30-year-old man was trampled to death by a stray elephant at a village near here today when he was trying to take a selfie with the jumbo, a forest official said.

The incident took place in presence of forest department officials who tried to chase away the elephant from entering human habitated areas.

The deceased has been identified as Ashok Bharati (30) and the incident took place near Mandiakudar village close to Kansbahal, nearly 25 kms from here.

The elephant was part of a 10-member herd that has been roaming the Rajgangpur range for the last couple of weeks. Yesterday night, the elephant was chased away by villagers and it got displaced from its regular path.

For the last couple of weeks, the elephant has been roaming alone -- both scared and angry.

Assistant Conservator of Forests Dilip Sahu of Rajganpur range said: "We were trying to disperse the villagers from the spot but no one listened to us.?

He added that this elephant was staying near the locality and was in a very foul mood as it was separated from its herd. PTI COR AAM BBN JM