Raipur, Dec 7 (IANS) About a dozen cops on duty at a police station in Chhattisgarh ran for cover when they found a herd of wild jumbos roaming in the complex, authorities said Monday.
“We are always prepared for any Maoist attack but we never thought of facing jumbos. We ran for cover when eight wild elephants entered the police station premises late Saturday,” Assistant sub-inspector Krishna Singh told IANS.

The Udaipur police station where the incident happened comes under Maoist-hit area and is part of Surajpur forest belt, some 400 km north of state capital Raipur.

“We were 13 policemen on duty when the wild jumbos broke through the main gate of the police station and moved towards the canteen area. We thought Maoists had sneaked in and we got ready for retaliation. But soon dozens of villagers chasing the jumbos reached the station shouting ‘bhago bhago (run away, run away)’. Then we realised the actual scene and we, too, ran towards the backyard of the police station,” Singh said.

He said the elephants stayed in the police station complex for about 20 minutes.

Forest officials say Chhattisgarh’s vast northern region, comprising Surguja, Jashpur, Koria, Korba and Raigarh districts, has recorded a sharp rise in cases of man-elephant conflict in recent months.