Three persons, including a toddler, were killed by possibly the same elephant within a span of six hours in Madarihat block of Alipurduar on Wednesday.
The first incident occurred around Wednesday 6pm at Madhya Chhekamari when a makna or a male elephant without tusks attacked Kader Ali, 43, who was returning home. Ali died on the spot.
Around 11.45pm, the same elephant is suspected to have struck at Kheriapara in Khayerbari, around 7km from the earlier spot, attacking a family returning home from Kali Puja celebrations.
Sonai Munda, 35, and her two-year-old daughter were trampled to death, while her husband, Sitaram, narrowly escaped.
“I was a little behind them when I saw the elephant trample my wife and daughter. It would have been better if it had killed me too,” said the bereaved husband.
State forest department sources said it was likely that the same lone elephant was responsible for both attacks.
Parveen Kaswan, the divisional forest officer of the Jaldapara wildlife division, said: "We are trying to identify the elephant. The affected families will receive compensation and one member from each family will be offered a job under the state government’s policy."
Foresters said elephants from the Jaldapara National Park usually stay along the Torsha riverbank and adjoining grasslands, but the October 5 floods have damaged the grasslands, forcing elephants to enter human habitats in search of food.