Two gaurs (Indian bison) came out of the Chilapara Forest of Alipurduar district on Sunday and strayed into a village in the neighbouring district of Cooch Behar.
The animals injured a resident, damaged a house and went on trotting around the village for over four hours. Foresters rushed to the spot and tranquillised the animals. Later, they were released into the Chilapata forest.
Sources said the animals had strayed out of the forest on Saturday night. They walked up to Marchbari village in Cooch Behar 2 block, located around 12km away.
As the bison started grazing in the field with other animals, villagers did not initially recognise the gaurs. However, after some time, they realised that wild animals had entered the village and pelted them with stones.
The animals started running aimlessly at the village. Some residents also informed the officers of the Jaldapara wildlife division. Pundibari police also reached the village.
The gaurs went on moving through Marichbari and drew attraction of hundreds of locals. Soon, the mob swelled and the people started chasing the animals. Around 8am, the bison reached near a temple and injured Bodha Ram, the priest. He has suffered injuries to the left hand and chest. He is under treatment at the Alipurduar district hospital and is reported to be in a critical condition.
Panicked over the chase by the mob, the gaurs went on shifting their locations. They damaged two houses near the primary school in Marichbari.
A team of foresters arrived and tried to restrain the locals, who had violated the lockdown. Around 10.30am, both the gaurs were spotted near a bamboo plantation. The policemen jumped into action and cleared the crowd. The foresters then shot darts and tranquillised the animals.
“Both the animals were brought back to Chilapata and released into the wild,” said Kumar Vimal, divisional forest officer of Jaldapara.