Elephants kill two villagers in West Bengal

A herd of elephants killed two villagers in West Bengal's West Midnapore District yesterday.

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The elephants killed one person each in Beucha and Godabari villages and tore their bodies into halves.

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Later, agitated by the negligence of authorities, the villagers in Godabari started protested by holding the body of one of the dead villagers, Pintu Mondal.

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The villagers alleged that despite repeated complaints the authorities take no action for securing their lives.

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"About 20-25 days ago, the elephants had caused heavy damage. We requested the authorities to rein in them but nothing has been done so far. The elephants have damaged crops, houses, have killed people in other villages and this time they have attacked this village. We want that such incidents do not happen again," said a villager, Rajib Das.

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The bodies were later sent to a hospital in West Midnapore for post-mortem.

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Attacks by elephants have been frequent in eastern India, causing serious injuries and deaths to villagers living near forests.

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The destruction of wild habitats in the country is one of the main reasons for humans and wild animals coming into conflict. Wild animals like elephants, leopards and panthers often stray into inhabited areas in India in search of food and cause huge human and material loss.