A two-year-old baby girl died on the spot on Friday when forest officials opened fire to chase away a herd of wild jumbo at Boko in Assam’s Kamrup district.
The mother of the infant, identified as Malabika Daimary was also seriously injured in the incident.
She has been admitted to Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) in a critical condition.
Sources said a herd of wild elephants strayed from jungle to paddy filed in search of food at Bondapara.
Sources said forest department officials tried to fire a shot in the air to scare the elephant herd but the gun misfired and bullets hit both the child and her mother.
While the child died on her mother’s lap, the woman sustained serious bullet injuries.
Forest department personnel were deployed in the area after the wild jumbo injured a local youth on Friday morning.