Nine persons were injured by pellet shots that personnel of the state forest department fired to drive away a wild elephant in the west Damdim, Malbazar, in Jalpaiguri on Thursday night.

Police took the injured to the rural hospital in Odlabari. They are in stable condition after receiving the necessary treatment.

A source said that on Wednesday, a herd of 30–40 elephants from the Targhera forest entered the paddy fields in west Damdim. Local farmers and members of the quick response team managed to drive the elephants back into the forest by 5am.

However, a tusker from the herd was trapped near Kalijhora, a stream, and later took shelter in a patch of forest nearby. Members of the wildlife squad of Malbazar began monitoring its movement.

Soon, a crowd gathered to catch a glimpse of the animal.

As forest workers attempted to guide the elephant into the forest, the elephant — agitated by the noise and commotion — charged towards them.

In self-defence, the foresters were forced to fire pellet shots into the air, which hit nine villagers.

Angry locals claimed that they were trying to protect their homes and agricultural fields.

Some villagers surrounded the forest department’s vehicles, prompting the foresters to leave. The elephant, meanwhile, walked into the forest.

“In the evening, the elephant was trying to return to the forest, but the crowd would not move. This made the elephant aggressive, and it charged at us. To protect ourselves, we fired pellet shots into the air. The injuries are unfortunate, and we are looking into the matter,” said a senior forester.

A police team led by Soumyajit Mallik, the inspector-in-charge of Malbazar police station, spoke with the locals and shifted the injured to the rural hospital.

Elephant attack

Enjulis Oraon, a resident of Rungamuttee tea estate in the Malbazar block, was killed in an elephant attack on Thursday night while he was guarding his paddy field.

A herd of elephants walked into the fields. Enjulis and some others tried to chase them, but an elephant caught him with its trunk and slammed him to
the ground.

He was taken to the super-specialty hospital in Malbazar, where he succumbed to his injuries.