A wild elephant strayed into several villages in Jalpaiguri on Sunday, prompting hundreds of people to rush to catch a glimpse of the animal and injuring an elderly man who had come too close to the animal.

Sources said that on Sunday morning, the elephant reached Teshimla from an
adjoining forest, crossed the Mal and Neora rivers and entered Salbari-Barmanpara area of Bidhannagar panchayat.

At Teshimla, the elephant attacked elderly resident Mongru Oraon, who was rushed to the super-specialty hospital in Malbazar and later, shifted to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital on the outskirts of Siliguri.

In Barmanpara, the elephant started running around as people chased it. A team from the wildlife squad stationed in Khunia reached the village.

The elephant left the village and reached Kalabari-Fikudhura. There, as some residents again gave it a chase, it crossed the Kurti river and moved through Paschim Batabari and Batabari tea estate.

“Eventually, it entered the Kharia-Bandar forest and is still there (as on Sunday late evening). We are keeping a watch on its movement. It seems the elephant somehow got separated from the herd,” said Prakash Thapa, the range officer of the Chalsa forest range.