Alipurduar: It was elephants that decided to gatecrash a wedding ceremony in Suripara village near Jaldapara National Park on Sunday night. The uninvited guests, however, triggered panic sending the invited running helter skelter.
The incident occurred at around 11 pm at the residence of Prakash Chandra Roy where the wedding ceremony was on, located just 400 metres from the Shishamara Forest.
The elephants silently emerged from the forest and entered the backyard. One approached the kitchen area, causing guests to flee in fear. Locals tried to chase the elephants away using torches and firecrackers. Forest department officials arrived shortly after and managed to drive the animals back into the forest using flashlights and fire crackers.
The chaos lasted for nearly an hour, but fortunately, no one was injured and the wedding resumed after the situation was brought under control. “I never imagined something like this would happen. Thankfully, no one was hurt,” said Roy. Panchayat Pradhan Sanjay Rava added: “Such incidents are frequent here due to the proximity to Jaldapara. Elephants move very silently. They are very clever. Thankfully, the situation was handled in time by the Forest department and the locals and the wedding ceremony could continue without further ado.”