A mob pelted a wild elephant with stones before using a bulldozer to chase it away in the Dam Dim area of West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district, officials said.

The animal got injured after it ran into the bulldozer.

The bulldozer driver has been arrested and the machine was seized, police said.

A video has emerged on social media of a fully grown-up male elephant running into the earthmover. The purported incident took place on Saturday.

Initially, the mob pelted stones at the elephant and even tried to grab its tail before they brought in the bulldozer to drive it away.

After getting information, police and Forest Department officials rushed to the spot.

“The unfortunate incident took place on Saturday. An unruly mob chased the elephant and used a bulldozer to drive it away. The elephant collided with the machine and got injured,” said Dwijaa Pratim Sen, Divisional Forest Officer of the Gorumara Wildlife Division.

“Later, the bulldozer was seized and the driver arrested. The accused has been charged with Section 9 (hunting) of the Wildlife Protection Act and Section 221 (obstructing a government official from discharging duties) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,” added Sen.

According to forest officials, the elephant was spotted in the nearby forest area of Baikunthapur.

A meeting was held on Monday and a medical board has been set up to examine the severity of injury to the animal.
“The medical board has three veterinarians who will inspect the injured elephant on Tuesday. If the injuries are found not severe, the elephant will be allowed to heal naturally. If not, we will have to form a task force and tranquilise the elephant before providing treatment,” added Sen.

This comes months after an incident in the state in which a pregnant elephant was killed with a flaming spear. On Independence Day in Jhargram last year, the pregnant elephant was killed with a flaming spear, thrown by “untrained” villagers who were called by the state Forest Department officials.

Following the incident, the department had announced training for these groups.