Overview
- Two people, including a child, were killed on Friday in Tilokutti village near the Odisha border, where the elephant lingered despite efforts to drive it away.
- A forest team member brought in from West Bengal was critically injured when the animal attacked during an afternoon push to move it back into the jungle.
- Forest officials say the elephant strikes at night and vanishes into dense cover by day, with experts attributing the aggression to musth.
- Multiple teams from West Bengal, Odisha, Vantara, and local units are on the ground with thermal and standard drones, though officials remain unsure whether one or more elephants are involved.
- Separate incidents since Thursday night left two people dead in Garwah and Hazaribag, and Assam’s Hojai district reported three fatalities since New Year, highlighting wider human–elephant conflict.