A tragic incident has come to light in the Katarniaghat forest area bordering Nepal in the Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh, when a Nepali woman was killed in a brutal elephant attack.
The 47-year-old Balika Sen, a resident of Karmohni Rajapur village, Ward No. 10 in Nepal, had gone to work in the fields on Wednesday. She was attacked and killed by a herd of elephants while returning home.
According to eyewitnesses, some women were working in the fields with other women. In the evening, as they were returning when a herd of elephants suddenly emerged from the forest. As they crossed the bushes they were surrounded by the elephants. While the other women managed to escape to safety, the tuskers grabbed Balika Sen in their trunks and repeatedly slammed her to the ground.
After killing the woman, the herd moved on. There are fears that a wild animal may have carried away the woman’s body in the darkness of the night. Based on information from the women who were working with her, villagers searched extensively in the night but could not find any trace of her. The Forest Department and the police were also informed.
The next morning, the severely mutilated body of the woman was recovered from the Katarniaghat forest area on the Nepali side of the border. The woman’s face was missing, one arm was gone, and she was naked. The condition of the body caused panic among the villagers, who suspected a tiger attack, although the Forest Department has denied this.
According to forest officials here, no tiger footprints were found at the scene. It is suspected that after the tusker attack, another wild animal may have scavenged the body.
It is noteworthy here that elephant attacks have been frequently reported in the Katarniaghat area recently. A few days ago, Shambhu Kumar, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar village, was attacked by an elephant and is currently under treatment at the district hospital. Earlier, Ram Bahadur, a resident of Chaukhara village, was trampled to death by an elephant. Suraj Kumar, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Katarniaghat, said there is constant movement of wildlife in the Katarniaghat forest. The movement of elephants is being closely monitored, and villagers have been advised not to venture into the forest.
Sujouli Police Station in-charge Prakash Chandra Sharma said since the incident occurred in Nepalese territory, the body has been taken into custody by the Nepalese Police.
According to the Forest Department, the Majhgai and Palia ranges of the buffer zone are the most affected by elephant herds. The elephants have damaged more than 40 acres of sugarcane crops so far. More than 45 farmers have been affected, but they have not yet received any compensation.
For the past two weeks, Nepalese elephants have been causing havoc in the border areas of Bahraich and Lakhimpur Kheri, creating an atmosphere of fear among the villagers.