Three wild elephants entered Dhupguri town in Jalpaiguri district on Thursday morning and wreaked havoc for around four hours.

Six persons were injured and two cars, several shops and houses, along with the GRP office at Dhupguri station, were damaged.

The three animals, a tusker, a female elephant and a calf, were first spotted near Dhupguri station in ward 16 around 5.30am.

The jumbos raided a platform, a goods train stationed at platform number 2 and damaged part of a railway wall and a portion of the GRP office. Two shops near the station were also damaged.

The 0633 Assam-bound Guahati-Kochivali Express was detained at the station for around 30 minutes as the animals roamed the area.

The elephants then entered ward 12 of the town. Local resident Anna Basak was injured when the animals chased her. She has been admitted to Dhupguri hospital. A car and two shops were damaged in the area.

In ward 10, the elephants damaged two homes and the fencing of a number of houses.

The five other injured persons from different wards were released after first-aid.

Around 11am, the female elephant and the calf were driven into the nearby Moraghat forest. Later, the tusker was steered into Dalgaon forest.

Bidyut Sarkar, the divisional forest officer, Jalpaiguri, said: "In the evening, I came to know that the tusker had reached Moraghat forest." Picture by Anirban Choudhury