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Jharkhand: 6 killed in West Singhbhum amid rising human–elephant conflict
Fragmentation of elephant habitats has forced animals to stray into human settlements in search of food, often with fatal consequences.
Six people, including four members of the same family, were killed late on Tuesday in separate elephant attacks in the Noamundi area of West Singhbhum district, officials said on Wednesday, underscoring the rising human–wildlife conflict linked to growing human encroachment into forest areas.
A day earlier, on Monday night, another tusker had killed three members of a family in Goelkera, also in West Singhbhum. Forest department officials said that at least 17 people have died in elephant attacks in the district in the past seven days, even as repeated attempts to drive the animals away from human settlements have so far failed.
A forest official familiar with the incident said fear gripped the entire Jeteya police station area in the Noamundi block following a rampage by a wild tusker. “Six people were killed in separate incidents across different villages, while four others sustained serious injuries. The most horrific incident occurred in Bawadia village, where the elephant targeted a single family,” the official said.
According to the official, six members of the family were sleeping in a straw-thatched house near a threshing floor when the tusker broke into the structure late at night, crushing and killing four people. “The deceased include a husband and wife and their two young children. One family member managed to escape, while another suffered a crushed leg and has been admitted to hospital in critical condition,” the official said.
Forest officials said two other deaths were reported from different villages in the same block. “One person was killed in an elephant attack in Badapaseya village, while another died in Lampaisai village. The identities of the deceased in these two villages are yet to be confirmed,” an official said.
Another forest department official said the tusker, believed to have strayed from its herd, was sighted in Gitikendu village around 4am on Wednesday and later moved towards Katepara village in the Jagannathpur police station area. “An alert has been issued in surrounding villages due to the elephant’s continued movement. Specially trained teams from West Bengal and Gujarat have been called in to capture the tusker. Quick Response Teams from all forest divisions have also been deployed, and efforts are on to drive the elephant back into dense forest areas,” the official said.
Noamundi range forest officer Jitendra Singh confirmed the incidents and said multiple measures were being taken to push elephants out of villages. “Two teams from Bankura in West Bengal are already working and one team from Odisha has been requisitioned. The elephant is very fast, and it is difficult to ascertain whether a single elephant or a herd is creating the problem. When we manage to control one location, the animal reaches another village before we can get there,” Singh said.
He added that it was not yet clear whether the elephant had turned aggressive due to stress or injury. “We have not been able to ascertain whether the elephant has become mad or not. Once that is determined, further action will be taken as per standard protocol,” Singh said.
Officials said the repeated attacks highlight the growing conflict between humans and elephants as villages, agricultural fields and infrastructure increasingly expand into traditional forest corridors. Fragmentation of elephant habitats has forced animals to stray into human settlements in search of food, often with fatal consequences.
Forest secretary Aboobacker Siddique could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. On Tuesday evening, he had said measures were being taken to control elephant movement. “According to standard protocol, steps have been taken. Experts from Bengal have also been called. People are being shifted to safer places in view of the elephant attacks. Damage to crops and properties is being compensated, but our focus is to prevent loss of human life. Positive results are expected within a day or two,” Siddique had said.
