A CORRESPONDENT
LAKHIMPUR, July 8: A mahout lost his life at Maidamia (Ward No. 3) in North Lakhimpur town on Sunday due to the wrath of a domestic elephant. Two domestic elephants led by four mahouts were going to Bodhakara of Lakhimpur from Gohpur under Biswanath district. At the time when the sensational incident took place, the elephants were walking along the NH-15 towards Bodhakora from the middle of the town. One of the mahouts was walking along with the elephants while the other three were riding them. Suddenly, one of the elephants rushed angrily towards the mahout walking with them. At that moment, the mahout who was riding on the back of the elephant fell off.
Numb with terror, both the mahouts ran towards the house of one Nagen Bania located by the highway and entered the house. The angry elephant chased them to the house. The elephant took one of the mahouts out and violently trampled him to death. “Then the elephant went to the back of the house and flushed water on his body from a bowl. He stood still there for about five minutes and then went out of the premises towards the other elephant. The whole incident took place in front my eyes as I was looking through the window of the other room,” said Barasha Saikia who was inside the house at that time along with her two children.
Barasha Saikia and her husband Jadumoni Talukder live in that house as paying guests. Barasha, her two children and the other mahout had a narrow escape from the wrath of the elephant. The deceased mahout was identified as Lambodar Kutum, resident of Lohitmukh village under Gahpur in Biswanath district. Later, Lakhimpur Police sent his body for post-mortem. Lambodar Kutum was also the owner of the two elephants. The elephants were taken to Bodhakora by the two other mahouts.