(IN): Wild elephant mercilessly tortured in Udalguri

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http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=aug1309/State1

 

Wild elephant mercilessly tortured in Udalguri

*CORRESPONDENT

 

KALAIGAON, Aug 12 – The shocking cruelty meted out to an eight year-old

wild elephant at Surjyanagar (Bethlehem Bagan) near Koramore under Harisinga

revenue circle (25 km from Udalguri) has drawn animal lovers’ sharp

criticism.

 

The incident has revealed the seriousness of the ongoing man elephant

conflict in Udalguri district. According to one eye witness, Nanda Ram Baro,

owner of a mini private tea garden, an eight-year-old wild elephant of a

roaming herd of 70 to 80 elephants accidently consumed three bags of urea at

Leabiaral mini tea garden on the night of August 8 after damaging 12 houses

of the locality.

 

According to him the elephant had mistaken the urea for common salt, and

became unconscious. Seeing the wild elephant in a helpless state the very

next morning a large group of irate people gathered round the animal and

started torturing the animal. Burnt tyres were thrown at it; spears were put

inside its ears and its tail was partially cut.

 

A few kind men of the locality, somehow managed to save the life of the

animal till the arrival of police on August 10. But it was severely wounded.

According to them the irate people wanted to kill and eat the elephant in

retaliation.

 

On hearing, about the incident, DN Hazarika, Circle Officer, Harisinga

Revenue Circle (Tangla) visited the place and reported the matter to the DC

and the DFO of Udalguri. Thanks to timely action of SS Meenakhi Sundaram,

Deputy Commissioner, Udalguri, under whose direction a team of police and

CRPF personnel headed by Chakra Choudhuri, OC, Harisinga police outpost,

arrived at the scene. The security man had a tough time controlling the

irate people who had gathered round the elephant.

 

In the meantime at the direction of Bankim Sarma, DFO Dhansri division,

Range Officer Haladhar Kalita and other forest personnel along with Dr KC

Chamua, VAS, Tangla arrived at the site for treatment of the elephant. When

this correspondent arrived at the site, the elephant was seen standing under

CRPF protection with grievous injury on its ear and tail, still surrounded

by irate people. First aid was provided to it. But all efforts of hired

forest Kunki elephant Bahadur went in vain to shift it towards a safe place,

asthe elephant was unable to move.

 

Although so much cruelty had been meted out to a helpless wildelephant;

still, the sight of emotional village women offering prayer at the site, for

the speedy recovery of the pachyderm was enough to prove that humanity still

exists.

 

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