Kolkata:Within days of a man being trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, yet another unfortunate incident occurred on Friday where a tusker went on rampage and killed three persons in the process and that too in the same area.
According to a senior forest official, this latest but gruesome incident occurred when the tusker strayed into the Kathambari village under the Apalchand range of Baikunthapur forest division of the state.
The forest official said, “the elephant had strayed into the village and attacked the villagers killing three of them and injuring another. The official said that of the three who were killed, one died on the spot and the other two succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
Those who were killed in the incident were identified as Rabin Orao, Surajit Katham and Benoy De Sarkar.
A local who was witness to the incident said that had the forest officials on receiving information not reached the site quickly, the casualty figure could have been higher as forest department personnel with the help of locals drove the tusker back in the forest.
Reacting to the incident, an expert said that the tusker in question in all probability was in ‘Musth’, a condition in which an elephants get unusually aggressive and attacks unprovoked.
Meanwhile, after the incident, the villagers assembled and demonstrated outside the forest office demanding ex gratia payment to the deceased persons.
