A man, his mother, and his 35-day-old infant daughter were killed by a wild elephant in the Falakata block of Alipurduar early on Saturday, sparking protests in the area.

Sources said that around 1am, a wild elephant had moved into the Sabhapati More area of Kunjanagar on the outskirts of Falakata town from the Jaldapara National Park, and reached the house of one Ratan Das. Hearing the sound, his son Manoj, 32, came out.

It was pitch dark as there was a power cut.

“For the past few days, criminals have been stealing cattle from the village at night. As Manoj heard an unusual sound, he apprehended a theft attempt. In the darkness, he could not see the elephant, which attacked and trampled him to death,” said Bikash Sinha, a neighbour.

As Manoj shrieked and collapsed in the courtyard of his house, his mother Makhanrani, 65, who was cradling Manoj's infant daughter, ran out with the baby in her lap.

The elephant attacked and killed both of them.

Ratan and Manika, Manoj’s wife, raised an alert, prompting the neighbours to rush for help. The elephant left the spot.

“We went to help them, but by then all three were dead,” Sinha said.

As the news spread, a section of villagers got agitated.

They blocked the Ninth Mile-Falakata Road with bamboo sticks and burnt tyres around 9am, alleging inaction on the part of foresters in preventing human-animal conflict in their area.

“Almost every night, wild elephants enter the area and cause harm. But we don’t get any response from foresters even after contacting them. This cannot go on,” said Bimal Biswas, a resident of the area.

As the protests continued for hours, Anik Roy, the BDO of Falakata, reached the spot with police officers. They spoke to the agitators and assured them that they would speak with forest officials to prevent elephant depredation.

Based on their assurance, the villagers withdrew the blockade around 3pm.

A team of forest officials also went to the village and handed over the compensation of ₹15 lakh to Ratan and Manika.

"It is an unfortunate incident. We have handed over the compensation and will also try to provide a government job to one of the family members,” said Bhashkar J.V., the chief conservator of forests (wildlife, north).