National
Four killed in wild elephant rampage
A rampaging tusker crossed the border into India and killed three people, all residents of the bordering Indian villages of Sitamadhi and Madhuwani district, in the past two days.According to Indian security personnel at Parihar Thana in Sitamadhi, 40-year-old Nijamuddhan had died on the spot when the tusker caught him by its trunk, lifted him and slammed him to the ground.
Likewise, Pramod Kumar Mahato of Budhban, Madhubani was also trampled to death by the same tusker. The attacks also claimed the life of Hulas Raya, driver of a police van.
After being unable to tackle the deadly menace of the tusker, the Indian police also sought the help of Nepali security personnel. Police Inspector Hem Shrestha of Armed Police Force’s border out-post in Samsi VDC said that the Block Development Officer had appealed for help over the telephone to contain the situation and tame the tusker after it went berserk damaging everything on it path in surrounding areas of Parihar and Sursund Police Post. Shrestha said that the tusker had reached Siswa, India through Sonma, Khakhana and Khayarbanni VDCs in Nepal.
The police and forest officials had fired a tranquilizer dart at the tusker. However, the attempt failed to yield the desired result, as instead of being sedated, the tusker ran away and reached bordering village of Basopatti VDC. District Forest Officer Shantimaya Shrestha said that she did not have any knowledge of the incident and opined that the tusker might have made it to India through the forests in Sarlahi.
Meanwhile, some eyewitnesses said that they had seen two elephants heading into the forest area towards the border but only one had emerged on the other side. And while speculations are rife about the disappearance of the missing tusker, locals said that the other elephant might have been killed by poachers triggering the tusker rampage. However, the concerned are yet to confirm the theory.
Meanwhile, A 45-year-old woman died in a wild elephant attack at Lahan-18 in Siraha district on Thursday morning. Police identified the victim as Tilak Maya Khadka. The tusker that entered into the settlement through Chure forest in Udayapur district attacked the victim near her residence at around 5:30 am.