JORHAT: An adult male elephant was allegedly poisoned to death at a tea garden along the Assam-Nagaland border in upper Assam’s Charaideo district on Tuesday, barely two days after a worker was trampled in the same area.
Forest staff found the carcass of the elephant in a paddy field near the tea garden. The incident took place at Nafuk tea garden on the outskirts of Sonari town in the bordering district.
“Preliminary investigation suggests that the elephant died after consuming some poisonous substance. It was the handiwork of some miscreants and investigation is on to arrest the culprits. A case has been registered in connection with the incident,” said a forest officer in Sonari.
He added, “Veterinarians have conducted an autopsy of the elephant. We have also sent samples for forensic examinations to ascertain the cause of the death.”
A man was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Lalotipathar village adjacent to Nafuk tea garden in Sonari along the Assam-Nagaland border on October 30. The deceased, Sutu Murah, he was a worker at the Nafuk tea garden and is survived by his wife and two children.
A strong herd comprising about 50 wild elephants have been wreaking havoc in Bongaon and its adjacent villages and tea gardens in Sonari in the past few days. The elephants damaged a vast portion of paddy crops in at least ten villages and have also damaged houses of locals. Residents of the area said the elephants came out of the nearby Abhoypur reserve “forest probably in search of food”.