GUWAHATI: A herd of wild elephants trampled to death a woman and three of her children, including a newborn, in Assam, a forest official said on Wednesday.
The elephants entered Theldhala village in Dhubri district bordering Bangladesh, about 320 kilometers west of Assam's main city of Guwahati on Tuesday.
"The herd went on the rampage tearing apart huts and attacked sleeping villagers, killing four members of a family and seriously injuring two," said the official.
"Six houses were completely damaged by the herd. Probably the herd came to the village looking for food."
In the past fortnight, herds of wild elephants have been wreaking havoc in several parts of Assam to reach harvested rice stalks.
Many are fuelled by paint-peeling moonshine that villagers brew from fermented rice.
"For a stiff drink, elephants will blast through walls and after a hearty drink they go berserk, at times plundering granaries and tearing apart huts, besides inflicting fatal attacks on human beings," said elephant expert and teacher at the College of Veterinary Science in Guwahati, Kushal Konwar Sharma.
Experts say wild elephants have been moving out of the jungles due to humans encroaching on animal corridors, leading to an increasing number of attacks on villages.
Villagers would drive away marauding herds by beating drums or bursting firecrackers. Now some have taken to poisoning the animals.
In five years, elephants have killed at least 150 people in Assam, while villagers have killed up to 200 of the animals, some of which were brought down with poisoned-tipped arrows.
The last count in 1999 recorded 5,400 elephants in Assam, more than half of India's estimated 10,000 wild elephants.
