Late on Wednesday night, an elephant assault in the Siliguri subdivision near Bagdogra claimed the lives of two people. The pair perished after being crushed by a tusker on Asian Highway II, according to officials from the Kurseong forest division. The deceased Sanjay Oraon, age 41, and Ajay Oraon, age 44, lived in Srilankabusty, Hatighisha, which is part of the Naxalbari block. Around 10.30 p.m., a wild tusker that had wandered from the Bagdogra jungle attacked them as they were riding their motorcycle home from Matigara. Ajay Oraon passed away instantly. According to a source, Sanjay, the second individual, was brought to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH), where he subsequently passed away. Elephants regularly cross the roadway in the region where the event took place, making it one of the forest division’s elephant corridors.
Foresters were alerted by several villagers who saw the dup collapsed on the roadway. They were taken to the NBMCH by a crew from the Bagdogra forest area. On Thursday, Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad’s sabhadhipati, Arun Ghosh, visited with the relatives of the deceased. “It is quite regrettable. Both were their families’ only wage earners. After speaking with foresters, I requested that they compensate the families with ₹5 lakh,” Ghosh added. In order to let visitors to observe elephants after sunset, he claimed, the SMP will construct solar lights in Hatighisha.