An adult male elephant on Wednesday strayed into Siliguri town in north Bengal, destroying several houses and vehicles as it rampaged through narrow by-lanes and busy market places for several hours.
The elephant was spotted in places adjoining the Baikunthpur forest as early as 3.30 a.m. However, it was not until seven hours after it had strayed into human habitation that the jumbo was tranquilised and taken to the forest.
As thousands of curious onlookers followed the pachyderm, traffic came to a standstill. Although a large posse of police was deployed in an attempt to control the mob, the efforts were met with little success.
As the elephant moved from Haidar Para, Sibram Palli, Isckon Temple Road and reached the arterial Sevoke Road, it razed dozens of shanties and railings in its way. Locals chasing the jumbo kept shouting and even as many captured photographs using cell phones.
A couple of attempts to tranquilise the animal failed to bear fruit initially. The animal then entered a motorbike showroom and crushed some vehicles on display.
