Three Killed in Separate Elephant Attacks in West Bengal’s Alipurduar District

October 23, 2025

Kolkata: Three persons, including a woman and a child, have been killed in two separate incidents of elephant attacks in West Bengal during the last 24 hours. The deaths were reported from the Alipurduar district in North Bengal.

First Incident Near Jaldapara National Park

According to state forest department officials, the first casualty occurred in the Madarihat area of Alipurduar district when a man returning home was suddenly attacked by an elephant on a road adjacent to the Jaldapara National Park.

The victim, identified as Kader Ali, a resident of the Chekamari area, was severely injured and rushed to Madarihat Rural Hospital by local villagers, where he succumbed to his injuries shortly after.

Woman and Child Killed in Madhya Khayerbari

The second incident took place early Thursday morning in the Madhya Khayerbari area, also in Alipurduar district. A woman, Sonia Munda, was sitting in front of her house with her 18-month-old daughter, Lakshmi Munda, when an elephant suddenly emerged from the nearby jungle and attacked them. Both were killed on the spot.

Growing Human-Elephant Conflict

Local residents claimed that elephants have frequently been entering localities adjacent to the forest and attacking people. They also complained that the animals often destroy residential huts, creating a sense of fear and displacement among villagers.

Residents alleged that repeated pleas to the state forest department to prevent elephants from entering inhabited areas have been ignored.

Rising Fatalities Across the State

As per data from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, a total of 436 people were killed in elephant-related incidents in West Bengal between 2019 and 2024.

Shrinking forest areas, coupled with a growing elephant population, are seen as major factors behind the increasing human-elephant conflict in the state.

Government Mitigation Measures

Several mitigation initiatives — including the construction of elephant corridors, installation of physical barriers such as fencing, and the formation of local committees to coordinate elephant movement — have been undertaken to reduce such incidents.