HT Correspondent
KHERONI, Dec 2: A massive herd of nearly 100 wild elephants continues to wreak havoc in the Kheroni area of West Karbi Anglong, with fresh tragedy striking on Monday. A 20-year-old girl was trampled to death and a farmer critically injured in two separate attacks linked to the same rogue elephant that had strayed from the main herd.
The fatal incident occurred around 7 PM on Monday when Khusbu Rajbhar, daughter of Dewandra Rajbhar of Bagisadubi village under Kheroni Police Station was attacked in the courtyard of her home. According to locals, the lone elephant charged without warning at dusk, killing her instantly.
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Earlier the same day, the same elephant attacked farmer Mansingh Chauhan, 45 and his son Ankit while they were harvesting pulses in their field. The elephant reportedly charged from behind, leaving Mansingh with multiple fractured ribs and a severely injured left leg. He was rushed to HAMM Hospital in Hojai, where his condition remains critical.
Meanwhile, another group from the herd went on a rampage the previous night in 02 No Watijor village near Forest Bazar, destroying three houses belonging to members of the Malakar family—Jasu Malakar, Narendra Malakar and Chandan Malakar. The elephants reportedly broke furniture and consumed stored rice and grains, leaving the families devastated.
Residents say the mega-herd has been moving across villages under the Southern Forest Range for months, flattening crops, damaging homes and uprooting trees almost every night. Villagers allege that despite repeated appeals, the Forest Department has failed to take effective steps to drive the herd back into deeper forested areas.
As of the filing of this report, the herd continued to roam freely through paddy and sugarcane fields and bamboo groves near Dikreng (Nawgharwa Basti) and Kheroni Charali, keeping the region on high alert.
With one young life lost, a farmer fighting for survival and hundreds of families living in constant fear, residents of Kheroni are demanding immediate and decisive intervention to end what they describe as a months-long ordeal.
