Dibrugarh: A 39-year-old motorcyclist was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Digboi’s Gorbasti area on Monday night.The victim, Umakanta Moran, was a farmer and is survived by his wife, who is five months pregnant, and their three-year-old daughter.Moran was riding home along Sidhapool-Lakhipathar road around 8.45 pm when an elephant emerged from the roadside and attacked him, residents said.Moran lost control of his motorcycle and fell by the roadside. The elephant trampled him, killing him on the spot.Villagers found his body beside the road and informed his family. After the forest department was alerted, personnel from Lakhipathar Forest Range reached the site and began formalities.The body was sent to Digboi Civil Hospital for an autopsy.A forest department official said: “The elephant is suspected to have come out of the upper Dihing Reserve Forest in search of food. The incident is being looked into, and necessary procedures are being followed.”Residents said poor visibility made the Sidhapool-Lakhipathar road dangerous at night. They said the unlit stretch was flanked by thick bushes, making it difficult for motorists to spot animals emerging from the roadside.“The road is completely dark at night, and there are thick bushes along both sides. A person travelling on a motorcycle has very little chance of noticing an elephant coming onto the road,” resident Joydev Moran said.Residents demanded streetlights, the clearing of roadside vegetation and closer monitoring of elephant movement near the reserve forest. They also sought immediate financial assistance for Moran’s family.Officials said his family would be eligible for Rs 6 lakh compensation under Assam’s revised human-wildlife conflict compensation scheme, subject to completion of the required procedures. The state govt recently increased compensation for deaths in such incidents from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh.
