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Three killed in attack by elephant, two injured

KOLKATA: Three persons were killed and two injured when a wounded elephant that had strayed into a village close to the West Bengal-Bihar border in Darjeeling district went on a rampage on Thursday. Two of the victims were residents of Bihar.

In the commotion of villagers chasing the five-year-old male tusker away from their farmlands, the elephant crossed the State border causing havoc there before returning to the village.

It all happened at daybreak near Khairbari in Darjeeling when villagers were on their way to their fields. The elephant, which appears to be a loner, had come from a nearby forest area.

It is likely that he was attacked by the crowd because when foresters reached the spot they found the animal injured and bleeding from the mouth, Darjeeling divisional forest officer Tapas Das told The Hindu over phone.

Forty-year-old Ram Brij Tirki fell victim to the frenzy of the injured animal. He suffered a head injury and died of resultant bleeding. Two others were also injured, according to police officials. The elephant then crossed over into Bihar where it killed two other persons. It then returned to Khairbari.

An elephant squad from Sukhna and foresters from Kurseong were rushed to the spot, Mr. Das added.

“The elephant was finally driven into the forest area near Bagdogra in the evening. We shall keep the animal under observation to see that the injury is healed,” Mr. Das said.

Incidents of man-animal conflict occur frequently, particularly in the harvest season when the elephants raid paddy fields at night. While they tend to be nocturnal and return to the forests before dawn, sometimes they are unable to do so and are trapped by crowds that try to protect their crops, Mr. Das said.

“It is unlikely that the elephant would have attacked in the manner that it did if it had not been injured and if such a large crowd had not gathered,” he added.

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