Alipurduar, June 24: A tusker killed a couple in Khalchangpara village under Madarihat police station close to Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary last night.

The tusker destroyed the house of Thanesh Toppo (38) and Kalin Toppo (33) last night and trampled them.

Last Friday, another tusker from the Chilapata forest under Cooch Behar forest division had entered the Salkumar area under Alipurduar police station and killed Budhu Goala (55).

Divisional forest officer of Cooch Behar forest division Kalyan Das said elephants often strayed into human settlements during their annual migration looking for food.

There are about 50-60 elephants in the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary, he added.

Another forest official said the man-elephant conflict was rising in north Bengal because of encroachments on the habitat of the elephants.

Wild elephants have recently been on rampage in vast areas of the Dooars killing many people and damaging standing crops, he added.

The forest department has decided to set up two corridors — one extending from Chilapata to Nimati and the other on the Lankapara-Dhumchipara-Titi-Bandapani-Reti route — to provide uninhibited passage during the elephants’ migration.

Child dies in mishap

Two-and-a-half year old Shampa Adhikary died in Santi Nagar of Kamakhyaguri yesterday afternoon when she fell into the irrigation canal which was almost full of water, reports our Alipurduar correspondent.

The child was taken out of the canal by a neighbour.

She was rushed to Kamakhyaguri Hospital but died on the way..

No complaint has been filed by the family at the .Kamakhyaguri police out post.