A herd of wild elephants at Rani reserve forest on the outskirts of Guwahati. (PTI)

Jorhat, April 23: A rampaging herd of elephants killed two women and damaged two houses in a tea garden in adjoining Golaghat district last night.

Forest department sources said a herd of about 30 elephants strayed out of Bjuli reserve forest on the Golaghat-Karbi Anglong inter-district border into Bogidhala tea estate under Bokial beat of Golaghat forest range, around 9pm and attacked a house in a labour colony. As the inhabitants of the house started shouting for help, other workers of the colony came out in large numbers and the herd left the area after causing partial damage to the house.

The garden, part of an elephant depredation area, is about 45km southwest of Jorhat.

Sources said while moving out of the area, the herd came across garden chowkidar Tileshwar Gourh’s bamboo hut near the eastern boundary of the estate. There were no other houses near it.

The elephants trampled a portion of the hut and came across the room in which Tileshawar’s mother, Phoola Gourh, 72, and a niece, Amani Gourh, 18, were sleeping. The herd trampled both the women to death, Bokial beat officer Dimbeshwar Phukan said. Another niece and two nephews of Tileshwar, staying in another room of the house, managed to flee to safety.

Phukan said several bags of paddy stored in the hut were also destroyed by the jumbos who ate some and spilled some on the ground.

The bodies have been brought to Golaghat civil hospital for post-mortem. An ex gratia of Rs 5,000 each will be given to the next of the kin of the deceased for last rites and a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each after the division submits a report of the incident to higher authorities in Dispur, Phukan added.

In the past month, the herd has destroyed over 12 houses in the gardens and neighbouring villages of Rangbon near Bogidhala tea estate under Bokial beat.

Phukan said the herd often strays out of the reserve and moves to the hill district of Karbi Anglong or enters villages or gardens in the area.

Golaghat forest range officer P.D. Nath said an anti-depredation squad always patrols the area, especially dusk-to-dawn when the wild elephants come out.

They burst firecrackers or resort to blank firing at times to ward off the jumbos from human settlements. The herd sometimes gets divided into small groups of six to seven which move out to different human-inhabited areas at night making it difficult for the forest personnel, he added.