RANCHIS, Feb. 14 -- Six people, including two adults and two toddlers of one family, were trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants in Hazaribagh district in the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. The victims have been identified as Suraj Bhuiyan (55), his daughter-in-law Suman Devi (25), Suman's two young children, Anurag (1.5yr) and Sanjana Kumari (4) besides Mangara Bhuiyan (58) and Dhaneshwar Ram (around 55) A forest official close to the matter informed that the incident took place at Ango Gondwar Bhuiyan Toli village under Churchu block of the district when villagers were fast asleep. "The attack occurred between 1:00am and 2:00am while residents were asleep. A herd of five elephants entered the village, damaging several mud houses. When family members rushed out to save one another, they were surrounded and trampled," the forest official said. Divisional Forest Officer (East) Vikas Kumar Ujjwal confirmed the fact saying that the herd had moved from the Bokaro-Ramgarh border and its entry into this specific locality was unexpected. "Wild elephants had come from the Bokaro-Ramgarh border. Earlier wild elephants had never been seen in the locality where the incident took place," Ujjawal said, expressing his concern over the incident. Asked about the steps taken to drive elephants, Ujjawal said a quick response team was deputed. "A Quick Response Team (QRT) is currently working to drive the herd toward the Kargi Forest. Meanwhile residents have been asked to remain indoors, especially at night, as the elephants are highly aggressive and unfamiliar with the local landscape," he said. Asked why the elephants were so aggressive, DFO Ujjawal said it is being assessed. "Wild elephants had never been seen in the locality where the incident took place, thus people unaware of the elephant's behaviour. They came out from their houses making the elephants more aggressive. Apart from this, elephants were also not aware of the landscape of the locality and were unable to decide where to go," Ujjwal said. A forest department official said that in the last 45 days, 33 people were killed in human-elephant conflict. "A single rogue tusker, believed to be in musth (a state of extreme hormonal aggression), killed at least 22 people between January 1 and January 21. In the last 10 days, an additional 11 people have been killed by a different erratic herd. This includes 6 people killed in a single attack in Hazaribagh's Churchu block today," the forest official said....