Jalpaiguri: 9 hurt as forest personnel fire pellets to control agitated jumbo

Jalpaiguri: Tension gripped West Damdim in Mal Block on Thursday night after nine villagers were injured when forest personnel fired pellet shots while attempting to control an agitated elephant. The incident occurred near Bhuttabari Section-1 of the Damdim Tea Garden, where a tusker had become distressed due to crowd pressure and loud noise.

Mal Police Station IC Somyajit Mallik rushed to the spot with a police team, rescued the injured villagers and sent them to Odlabari Rural Hospital for treatment.

The conflict began late Wednesday night when a herd of 30-40 elephants emerged from the Targhera Forest and raided paddy fields in West Damdim. Local farmers and the Forest department’s Quick Response Team (QRT) began efforts to drive the herd back. After prolonged attempts, the elephants were pushed inside the fenced forest around 5 am on Thursday.

However, an elephant got separated from the herd and moved through the Damdim Tea Garden before entering Ray Para of West Damdim. With assistance from locals and the QRT, it was eventually guided back towards the forest.

Meanwhile, another tusker became stuck near the Kalijhora River and remained close to the riverbank forest throughout the day. As news spread, hundreds of villagers gathered to watch the elephant, complicating monitoring efforts by the Mal Wildlife Squad and Odlabari forest personnel.

After nightfall, when officials tried to drive the tusker back into the forest, the situation escalated due to crowd agitation. As the elephant charged, forest personnel fired pellet shots in self-defence, unintentionally injuring nine villagers. The incident triggered protests, with angry residents blocking the road and surrounding a Forest department vehicle. Forest staff were forced to retreat until police intervened.

Later, IC Soumyajit Mallik restored order and ensured the injured were taken to the hospital. Raja Ram, DFO of Baikunthapur Forest Division said: “Since evening, the elephant was trying to return to the forest, but the crowd wasn’t moving away.

The animal became aggressive. For self-defence, blank shots were fired into the air. It is unfortunate that someone was hurt and we are looking into the matter seriously.”

In a separate incident the same night, a man identified as Anjulis Oraon (45) of the Rani Khola Line was killed while guarding paddy fields at the Rangamati Tea Estate. Around 11:30 pm, a herd moving along its natural corridor entered the area. As Anjulis and others tried to drive them away, a tusker charged. While others escaped, Anjulis was caught and fatally injured. He died at Mal Super Specialty Hospital. His body was later sent to Jalpaiguri District Hospital for post-mortem.