Siliguri: Twelve-year-old tribal boy, Nasif Munda, was today killed after a wild tusker caught him by its trunk near his home at tea garden and hurled him to death in West Bengal's northern district.
Eye witnesses said the class 4 standard boy was on a morning walk near his home under Saili tea estate in Nidim division of Malbazar block, a tea producing zone of north Bengal.
They said when the tea gardens people came out at the cries of the boy, they saw the bull elephant held the boy by its trunk and hurled him down on hard floor and moved into the forest area.
The boy died instantly.They alleged the man-animal conflict in the region was not new but due to lockdown situation the wild beats frequently roam around the human inhabitant areas in recent months.
An official said the forest department at Malbazar has handed over Rs 20,000 to the relatives of the victim and rest Rs 3.8 lakh to be given after report of autopsy and official procedures.The body was sent for postmortem in Jalpaiguri hospital.(UNI)