Elephant attack : 1 killed, 1 injured

 

COOCH BEHAR, Nov. 1: A herd of three wild elephants committed havoc in some villages under Cooch Behar forest division this morning. They killed an aged woman of Atialguri village. A forest worker was also injured seriously when they were trying to drive the elephants out to the forests.

 

The full grown wild elephants including a tusker sneaked into some villages after crossing over Ghargharia river at the early morning hours today. They massacred in Atialguri, Tapsikhata, Dhangdhinguri and Patkapara. The residents of the villages got panicky. An aged woman was trampled to death during the devastation. She was identified as Basantibala Gope (82). Some village dwellings were also damaged. Locals alleged that the wild elephants ransacked a large area of cultivation.

 

According to forest department rules the kin of the deceased will get Rs one-lakh as compensation. Cooch Behar DFO (Social Forestry) Mr Apurba Sen said this afternoon that Rs 25,000 was already handed over to the family members of the killed woman as advance.

 

On being informed forest personnel from Buxa Tiger Reserve and Cooch Behar forest division rushed to the area. They tried to drive out the pachyderms back to the forests. During the procedure they had to burst huge quantity of crackers. When they were busy in driving out the elephants one of them, Jogeswar Rava, suddenly came in front of the fleeing herd. He was shifted to Alipurduar sub-divisional hospital in a serious condition.

 

Mr Ashok Pratap Singh, deputy director of Buxa Tiger Reserve suspects that the elephants may have came from Chilapata forest. He claimed that the forest workers successfully drove the pachyderms away to the forests. []