According to Sunsari District Police Office, Bholiya Devi Mukhiya, 55, of Haripur-3 was killed in an elephant attack on Wednesday morning.
An elephant trampled Mukhiya to death on the day her daughter´s wedding was to take place.[break]
Protesting the government´s turning a deaf ear to their repeated requests for controlling the elephant terror, the locals demonstrated, obstructing transportation along the East-West Highway at Haripur, Sunsari district. They placed the dead woman´s body on the road.
After police tried to reopen traffic, a clash ensued with the locals. Five locals and four policemen, including Inspector Sagar Thapa, were injured in the clash.
According to Dilli Karki, a witness, police baton-charged the demonstrators and fired tear gas shells to disperse them. A fire that started from a tear gas shell burnt down three huts belonging to Shyam Sharda of Haripur-1.
The police forcefully took way the dead body from the demonstrators and sent it for an autopsy.
According to Superintendent of Police Saurav Rana, police were compelled to use force after the locals refused to come to any agreement and continued with their protests.
Rana further informed that more than 30 tear gas shells were fired to take the situation under control. However, he denied that any fire was started by the tear gas shells.
Although vehicular movement resumed at noon, the area remained tense throughout Wednesday as family members of the deceased woman have refused to receive her body.
According to a local, Tej Narayan Goit, Mukhiya´s family was preparing for her daughter Ranju´s weddin on Wednesday.
“After final preparations for the wedding, the family was about to go to bed late at night when they found that a herd of elephants had reached the house. Mukhiya was caught by an elephant while she was going to inform her son in the house next door about the elephant menace,” informed Goit.
He said the woman was dashed to the ground and trampled to death by the elephant, killing her instantly. Elephants also destroyed Mukhiya´s house.
According to Warden at Koshi Tappu Wild Life Reserve, Rajendra Dhungana, no one has come in contact to receive the dead body.
Dhungana also informed that the family of the victim would get Rs 300,000 along with the expenses for the last rites of the dead.
Every year, elephants coming into human settlements at the time of the paddy harvest create havoc in Haripur, Sukumbasi Basti and some parts of Sripur in Sunsari. People in Barahawa, Barmajhiya, Badgam, Pipraha, Kamalpur and Udappur in Saptari district also live in constant fear of tusker attack.
Two days ago, a group of elephants destroyed five houses in Sripur and Haripur.
The locals on Wednesday formed a struggle committee to press the government to deal with the tuskers. They have decided to obstruct traffic at Haripur along the East-West Highway for two hours on Thursday and organize an indefinite strike from Friday.
Meanwhile, a cyclist was killed by a fire brigade going to douse the fire in the Haripur area that allegedly started from a tear gas shell.
Girendra Karki, 55, of Madhesa-9 was mowed down by the fire brigade. He died on the way to hospital.
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