Kharagpur: In clear violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, villagers in the Jhargram district of West Bengal, hurled fireballs at an elephant calf on Tuesday night, in an effort to drive away a herd approaching their village.
A video of the incident has emerged and forest department officials have launched an investigation to try and identify those involved in the incident.
The footage is from the Haribhanga area of Jhargram. It shows an elephant calf running even as a fireball hits its hind quarters.
“We have launched an investigation. Strict action will be taken. We cannot allow this,” state forest minister Birbaha Hansda told The Indian Express.
The newspaper also spoke to Manish Kumar Yadav, divisional forest officer, Kharagpur, who said: “We have seen the video. Some villagers threw fireballs at the elephant herd. We have initiated an investigation and the culprits will be nabbed soon. The faces are not very clear in the video. We are also looking into whether the elephant calf is injured. However, the incident happened on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, the herd travelled around 14 km and on Thursday about 15 km. It is now in the Keshorekha area of Nayagram beat.”
Officials said that a herd of 54 elephants was present in the Sankrail beat of the Kalaikunda range (Jhargram). The herd later split into two. Residents objected to their presence and alleged crop damage.
Forest officials were attempting to drive the herd away on Tuesday night. While the elephants were crossing a road in Haribhanga (under the Sankrail beat), villagers reportedly threw a fireball at the animals. The projectile struck a calf that was following its mother.
On August 15, 2024, a pregnant elephant died in the Jhargram town area after a burning spear, or hula that was thrown at her got lodged in the animal’s back. The pregnant elephant was part of a group of five, including two calves. Two members of a hula party – local youths engaged by the forest department to drive away elephants – were arrested.
Following that incident, the state forest department initiated steps to train hula party members twice a year, and to provide them with medical and life insurance. Plans were also made to equip forest officials with body cams.
