Elephant found dead in Hojai

Staff Reporter, Hojai, July 31: In a suspected case of food poisoning, a teenage female elephant reportedly died after eating crops at Raikata Kacharigaon in Hojai district on Monday morning. According to initial reports, the pachyderm is believed to have ventured outside the Komorakata forest reserve in search of food. Speaking to the media, one of the local people said, “We found the elephant lying unconscious in the paddy field on Monday morning and accordingly, a huge crowd gathered here. We have already informed the forest official about the incident. Human-elephant conflict is quite prevalent in Raikata, sometimes; forest officials also come here for patrolling in the morning, but not in the night hours. We are not dependent on the forest department.” Meanwhile, after learning about the occurrence, a team of forest officials arrived on the scene and launched an investigation.