Dibrugarh: A 62-year-old woman, Sanju Orang, was trampled to death by a wild elephant in the early hours of Wednesday in the Dhola Saihowa area in Tinsukia district.According to family members, Orang woke up early as was her daily routine and stepped out of her house at around 4.30 am. Within minutes, she was attacked and trampled by the elephant right in her courtyard.“She just went out like she does every morning. We heard her scream and rushed outside, but by the time we reached her, she was already dead,” her daughter said.On being informed, forest department officials reached the site soon after. The body was subsequently sent for post-mortem examination.Forest officials said the attack was carried out by a lone male elephant that strayed out of the nearby Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.“It appears to be a solitary male elephant that ventured out of the park boundary looking for food. Such movement is not uncommon,” a forest official said, adding that further steps would be taken to track the animal’s movement and prevent future incidents.Locals in the area have long raised concerns over increasing human-elephant conflict, with frequent sightings of wild elephants straying into human settlements bordering the national park. Residents have urged the forest department to strengthen monitoring and early warning systems to prevent such tragic encounters.
