Jumbo Rampage — In a harrowing sequence of events that has shaken local communities and raised fresh alarms about human-elephant conflict, a single wild elephant is suspected of killing three people — including a toddler — in a span of just six hours in the Madarihat block of Alipurduar district on Wednesday evening and night.
The first attack occurred around 6:00 p.m. in the Madhya Chhekamari village area when a male tusk-less elephant (makna) allegedly emerged from forest fringe zones and trampled 43-year-old Kader Ali to death while he was returning home. He died at the spot.
The second attack happened some hours later — at around 11:45 p.m. — roughly seven kilometres away in Kheriapara village, Khayerbari region. Returning from the Kali Puja celebrations, a family was attacked. The 35-year-old mother, Sonai Munda, and her 2-year-old daughter were killed. Her husband, Sitaram, narrowly escaped. “I was a little behind them when I saw the elephant trample my wife and daughter. It would have been better if it had killed me too,” he told reporters.
Forest department officials of the Jaldapara wildlife division, including Divisional Forest Officer Parveen Kaswan, said they are making efforts to identify the elephant and assess whether both incidents involve the same animal. “We are trying to identify the elephant. The affected families will receive compensation and one member from each family will be offered a job under the state government’s policy,” Kaswan said.
According to foresters, elephants from Jaldapara National Park typically stay along the Torsha riverbank and the adjoining grasslands, but the recent floods (on 5 October) have damaged large tracts of grass and grazing areas, forcing pachyderms to move closer to human habitations in search of food. The same mechanism, officials believe, may have triggered the current spate of attacks.
The Human Toll: Lives Lost, Families Shattered
The village of Madhya Chhekamari was jolted when Kader Ali collapsed under the attack. Residents rushed to the site but could do little as the elephant turned back into the forest belt. His body was retrieved and sent for post-mortem.
Later that night, in Kheriapara, the mood of festivity after the Kali Puja celebration turned to grief. Sitaram Munda, his wife and their young daughter were returning home on foot. The sudden appearance of the elephant sent everyone into panic. Sitaram escaped, but the elephant caught up with his wife and child, leaving them fatally injured.
Local villagers described a scene of chaos — shouting, stampeding, children wailing, and a giant pachyderm moving with deadly force. Many of them said this kind of night‐time movement by wild elephants has become more frequent in the area.
In both households, grief prevails. Elders, neighbours and children continue to replay the moments. The local funeral rites are underway, while forest department teams and police are conducting investigations into the exact identity of the animal, its movements, and possible tracks.
The district administration has announced ex-gratia relief under the state policy for human casualties caused by wild animals, and forest officials confirmed that at least one job opportunity will be offered from each affected family as part of a government safety net scheme.
Why This Happened: Ecological and Environmental Context
Repeat Xenophobia in the Wild-Human Interface
Human-elephant conflict has become a recurring and tragic phenomenon in the Dooars region — the belt of forests, rivers and tea estates at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas. The presence of dense tea gardens, fragmented habitats, tea estate infrastructure, human settlements right at forest fringes, and river-grassland ecosystems make this region particularly vulnerable.
Floods and Habitat Damage
Forest department officials point out that recent heavy floods on 5 October damaged large stretches of grassland and the riparian vegetation along the Torsha river. The grasslands, which serve as natural foraging and lawn‐like spaces for elephants, were washed away, reducing available food and forcing elephants into villages. This is consistent with previous research that shows habitat damage and food scarcity drive wild elephants closer to human habitations.
Single Bull Elephants (Makna) Are Especially Dangerous
Maknas — male elephants without tusks — are often more aggressive and unpredictable than females or tusked males. When separated from herds or when scent‐marking, their chances of conflict with human settlements go up. The fact the attacking elephant was described as a makna suggests a higher risk profile.
Forest Overlap and Human Encroachment
Tea gardens, old villages, estate quarters, foot‐paths between tea estates and forest fringes, and settlements with minimal safety barriers make these zones high-risk for wildlife intrusions. Many villagers in Madhya Chhekamari, Kheriapara and surrounding zones said the elephant came in from forest edges where the boundary between human habitation and forest is quasi-blurred.
Response, Investigation & Compensation
Forest department teams of the Jaldapara wildlife division moved quickly to the two sites. Their tasks include:
- Tracking the elephant’s footprints, dung and movement patterns
- Setting up traps or barricades where possible and safe
- Alerting local tea estates and villagers about night watch and emergency contacts
- Collaborating with local police for crowd and site control
- Offering compensation and relief to affected families
Divisional Forest Officer Parveen Kaswan reiterated that relief and compensation under the “State Policy for Human Casualties due to Wild Animals” will be provided to the victims’ families. He confirmed one job opportunity each is part of the relief package.
Police have been asked to support traffic and foot‐path monitoring in the region, especially at night. Villagers have been requested to avoid returning home late, to travel in groups, carry lights and alarms, and to alert forest control rooms when wild animals are sighted near habitation.
Broader Impacts: Communities at Risk
Tea Estate Labour & Villages
The Dooars region’s economy is heavily reliant on tea estates. Many labour quarters are immediately adjacent to forest patches. Workers often commute by foot in early morning or evening hours when light is poor, making them vulnerable. Family members of tea workers were among those affected.
Children and Vulnerable Individuals
The death of a 2-year-old child in Kheriapara underscores how children and the elderly are especially at risk when animals stray into settlements. Young children may lack quick response ability, and elders may not be able to run away or sound alarms quickly.
Night Travel & Festive Movement
The incident occurred during the return from a festival (Kali Puja), when families were returning late at night; light was low and vigilance may have been compromised. Festivals often mean extra movement into and out of settlements near forest fringes, which creates increased vulnerability.
What Local People Are Saying
Villagers in Madhya Chhekamari and Kheriapara described how they heard rustling near homes, distantly saw the silhouette of a large animal, then the sound of shouts and crash. A local resident recalls: “We were packing up after the festival when we heard something heavy moving near the path. Before we could alert everyone, it was upon us.”
Tea-estate labourers said they avoid walking alone after dusk and try to travel in groups for safety. One elder said: “Our houses are near forest boundary; earlier we heard trumpet calls at dawn, now we hear them at night. The grasslands are gone, the animals are hungry.”
Families of victims said they were still in shock, demanding better fencing, more lighting, patrols, compensation and a lasting solution rather than periodic relief.
Historical Context: Alipurduar’s Runtime with Elephants
This region has recorded multiple human-elephant conflict incidents over years. For example, in 2020, a wild elephant killed a man and ransacked a village near Chhekamari in Alipurduar district. Earlier, in 2021, two people died in elephant attacks in the same district.
These recurring episodes underscore the pattern: increasing forest-to-village animal movement, especially during periods of habitat stress such as floods, drought or human encroachment.
Policy Challenges & Prevention Measures
Habitat Restoration
Forest officials emphasise the need to restore grasslands and river‐bank vegetation so that elephants have fewer reasons to stray. Replenishment of lost grazing zones is being planned.
Buffer Zones & Early Warning Systems
Installing electric fences, motion sensor alarms, night-lights, barracks and community watch systems around high-risk villages are part of broader mitigation strategy.
Community Awareness & Safe Movement Protocols
Villagers must be educated on safe practices—moving in groups, avoiding paths after dusk, using lights and horns when returning home late, and reporting animal sightings early.
Compensation & Livelihood Support
Prompt compensation for victims is key to trust. The state policy allows relief for human casualty due to wild animal attacks and offers jobs to immediate family members in some cases. This incident’s compensation policy was reaffirmed by DFO Kaswan.
Cross-department Coordination
Foresters, police, local municipality, tea estates and community leaders must coordinate. Patrols need better equipment, off‐hours travel should be monitored, and forest boundary management should be stronger.
What’s Next — Monitoring the Elephant & Preventing Further Tragedy
The forest division is now watching for the suspected lone elephant’s next moves. A special team has been assigned to identify the animal, either by physical tracking or camera traps. If confirmed as the same culprit, steps will include tranquilisation or directed translocation where feasible. The challenge remains balancing wildlife protection with human safety.
In the meantime, local tea estates, village panchayats and police have been asked to distribute whistles, flashlights and instruct villagers to travel in groups and alert forest control rooms via hotline numbers when there is an intrusion.
Officials hope that such swift action combined with habitat restoration will reduce the chances of another deadly encounter.
Reflections: The Cost of Co-existence
This incident spotlights the deeper tension between human habitation and wildlife in forest-fringe zones in India. While elephants are officially protected under Indian law (Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act) and carry significant cultural value, their increasing intrusion into human spaces is forcing a reckoning.
Villages like Madhya Chhekamari and Kheriapara stand at the frontline of this conflict — suffering losses, yet still dependent on the very ecosystem that is now overlapping with habitation.
For the families who lost loved ones, there is grief, anger and rising demand for accountability. For the forest department, there is urgency, a need for resources and a challenge of balancing conservation and community safety.
For the state of West Bengal and India’s forest-policy planners, this is yet another sad metric in the ongoing ledger of human-animal encounters — one that calls for renewed investment in habitat resilience, early-warning systems, and community-centric safety nets.
Jumbo Rampage: Conclusion
As another moonlit night falls over the tea-estate belt of Alipurduar, the villages affected by Wednesday’s tragedy are still in mourning. Three lives — a father, a mother and a toddler — were lost in what may have been a rampage by a single, distraught elephant. The grief is raw, the questions are many and the demands for a sustainable answer are loud.
Officials promise relief, compensation and job offers under state policy. Investigations are underway. But beyond the immediate response lies a deeper challenge: creating a world where a villager walking home from festival celebrations need not fear a silent giant emerging from the darkness.
This incident is not just about a rampaging elephant. It is about habitat erosion, shifting ecosystems, vulnerable human communities, and the urgent need for coexistence strategies that truly work.
For Madhya Chhekamari and Kheriapara, the next steps must be meaningful changes — fences that hold, lights that deter, alerts that save and habitats that nourish. Until then, the shadow of the elephant will remain large, and the grief of the families even larger.
Here are some government-external links you can use (for West Bengal / India) about compensation and procedure for wild animal attacks / human-wildlife conflict.
-
“Procedure for Processing application Form for claiming Ex-gratia Compensation due to Wildlife Depredation” – West Bengal Forest Department. westbengalforest.gov.in
-
Advisory on “Wild Animal Depredation in Tea Estates of North Bengal” by the State wildlife department. wildbengal.com
-
Official answer in Lok Sabha about human lives lost due to wild animal attacks, and compensation in West Bengal. Digital Sansad
Also read: Home | Channel 6 Network – Latest News, Breaking Updates: Politics, Business, Tech & More
