Alipurduar, April 17 -- Panic gripped residents of Falakata on Thursday morning after a pair of wild bison strayed into residential areas, injuring two people and killing a cow. The animals were first spotted in the southern Parangerpar area of Ward 1 under Falakata Municipality. They later rampaged through Ward 2's Chuakhola area and the nearby Sonardham locality under Moiradanga Gram Panchayat.

A local farmer, Bishwajit Biswas, was seriously injured after being attacked while taking his cattle to graze. He was initially treated at Falakata Super Specialty Hospital before being referred to a private nursing home in Cooch Behar, where he remains in critical condition. Later in the day, another resident, Sujoy Barman, sustained a leg injury during a similar attack in Sonardham but was discharged after primary treatment.

One of the bison reportedly died after running for a prolonged period, while the other took refuge in a cornfield in Sonardham. Despite efforts by the Jaldapara Forest Division to tranquilise and relocate the animal, it remained at large at the time of reporting.

"The two bison were agitated by the crowd, felt threatened, and turned aggressive, which led to the incidents. One has unfortunately died," said Parveen Kaswan, Divisional Forest Officer of Jaldapara.

In a separate incident, a wild elephant entered the Mechpara Tea Garden workers' quarters in Kalchini block around 11 pm on Wednesday, damaging property and injuring six members of a tea worker's family, including a five-year-old child.

The elephant reportedly broke through a wall during a thunderstorm-induced power outage, causing it to collapse on Raj Oraon's five-year-old son, who sustained serious head injuries. Forest personnel from the Buxa Tiger Reserve responded promptly and the injured were taken to Latabari Block Hospital. The child was later shifted to Alipurduar District Hospital for further treatment, where a CT scan was arranged by the Forest department. His condition remains critical, while the other injured family members are stable.

"We have ensured all medical support for the injured child and are assisting the family as per government guidelines," said Harikrishnan PJ, Deputy Field Director of Buxa Tiger Reserve (West).

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.