Guwahati: An Assam Police constable was trampled to death by a wild elephant while on patrolling duty at a battalion camp in Goalpara early on Sunday, police said.The deceased was identified as Amzad Ali, posted with the 17th Assam Police Battalion at Dakurvita.Police said Ali encountered a lone elephant while returning to his duty post. The animal attacked and trampled him, leaving him critically injured.He was taken to Shahid Nidhanuram Civil Hospital in an unconscious state, but doctors declared him dead on arrival, an officer said. Seven personnel were on patrol duty at the time.The incident highlights the continuing human-elephant conflict in Goalpara, where such encounters have repeatedly caused casualties.Goalpara’s elephant conflict has turned increasingly deadly, with Lakhipur emerging as one of the worst-hit pockets.Nearly 20 villagers were killed in elephant attacks in the district in 2021, while 28 human deaths were recorded in 2022. In 2023, at least 13 more people died by November, including a 55-year-old woman trampled near Goalpara town. The toll continued into 2024, when a young couple and another villager were killed in separate incidents in Lakhipur.Elephants, too, have paid a heavy price. At least five jumbos died in Goalpara in 2023, including elephants suspected to have been electrocuted by wires used to protect crops. Repeated incursions are linked to elephants moving down from Meghalaya’s hills through fragmented forests, farmland and settlements in search of food. Crop-raiding, attempts by villagers to drive away herds and unsafe electric fencing have repeatedly triggered deadly encounters.
