Assam: Elephant attack claims life of 8-year-old girl in Gossaigaon

An 8-year-old girl lost her life in North Lapong Tola, Athiabari under the Kachugaon forest division in Kokrajhar district as the ongoing clash between elephants and humans takes a devastating toll.

The victim, identified as Sani Mardi, a Class 3 student and daughter of Sida Mardi, fell prey to a marauding herd of elephants that ventured out of the Raimona National Park in search of food during the midnight hours. The incident occured when the elephants invaded the village.

The All Assam Adivasi Students' Union (AASU) has raised concerns over the delayed response of both the police and the forest department. Alleging that timely intervention could have prevented the tragedy, AASU called for an urgent reassessment of the measures in place to manage such conflicts.

Despite efforts by the police to rescue the young victim, the retreated into the wilderness, leaving behind a grieving community and a multitude of unanswered questions.

Police and the forest department managed to retrieve the body and sent it to Kokrajhar for postmortem examination.