A 75-year-old man on Tuesday was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants at Jathiura under Komorakata Gaon Panchayat in Hojai.
Police officials told Northeast Now that the incident occurred around 12 noon.
The septuagenarian, Khargke Bhadaur Chetri had gone to the Komorakata Reserve Forest to graze his cows.
While he was returning from the forest, he came face to face with a herd of wild elephants. The tuskers trampled him to death.
Also read: Assam: Wild pachyderms destroy paddy fields in Hojai
“We all were working, when suddenly people started shouting that wild elephants had killed man,” a villager said.
When a large group of villagers reached the spot, they found Khargke Bhadaur Chetri’s body was lying near a bush. By then the herd of wild elephants had left the place.
During the last few months, people in Komorakata Gaon Panchayat have often been complaining about movement of large herds of wild elephants.
“People are now scared to visit nearby villages at night because they may have to face herds of wild elephants midway,” a villager said.
The villagers are angry with forest department’s response to the crisis. “The forest officials are not doing anything to guarantee our safety,” the villager said.
On Monday, a herd of elephants had entered the Komorakata village, but luckily, no one was injured.
On Saturday night, wild elephants destroyed a large patch of paddy field at Bishnupur in Hojai.
The wild elephants are creating problem for the villagers because a large patch of the elephant corridor has been blocked because of human habitation in the area.
