Mother and Son Killed by Wild Elephant 'Dhruve' in Chitwan

Makwanpur. A notorious wild elephant 'Dhruve' that entered the village from Chitwan National Park attacked a house on Saturday night in Jagatpur of Bharatpur Metropolitan City-23, killing a mother and son.

Local residents are angry, saying that two innocent citizens lost their lives because Dhruve, who has been terrorizing the local settlement for years, was not brought under control in time.

According to the Chitwan District Police Office, on Saturday night around 11 PM, the elephant attacked the कच्ची house of 25-year-old Ashika Bote and her four-year-old son Bharat Bote in Belhatta, killing them on the spot. According to DSP Chandra Bhushan Yadav, spokesperson for the District Police Office, the elephant suddenly attacked the house while the mother and son were sleeping inside.

To save his family from the elephant's attack, the head of the household, Purna Bote, tried to drive away the elephant by lighting a fire. However, the house caught fire when the fire spread to the कच्ची house. The police said that although the fire was brought under control with the joint efforts of locals and the police, the house was damaged. However, no further casualties occurred due to the fire.

Angry Locals Protested with Bodies

Following the incident, angry locals staged a sit-in protest by placing the bodies of the deceased mother and son on the bridge over the Rapti River leading to the headquarters of Chitwan National Park in Kasara. They chanted slogans against the park administration, warning that they would not remove the bodies until Dhruve was brought under control immediately.

According to locals, Dhruve has long been involved in destroying houses, destroying crops, and attacking people by entering Belhatta, Jagatpur, and surrounding settlements. They complain that effective action was not taken despite informing the park administration repeatedly.

Four-Point Agreement After Discussion

Following the local protest, discussions were held between representatives of Chitwan National Park, Naya Gorakha Battalion, Bharatpur Metropolitan City-23 Ward Office, Kerunga Buffer Consumer Committee, Belhatta Hariyali Buffer Community Consumer Committee, and Inaruwa Police Office.

A four-point agreement was reached after the discussion. According to the agreement, necessary procedures will be initiated to bring the wild elephant Dhruve under control immediately, immediate relief will be provided to the victim's family through Chitwan National Park, the victim's house will be rebuilt, and necessary security and management programs will be implemented immediately to reduce human-wildlife conflict.

Deepak Dawadi, Ward Chairman of Bharatpur Metropolitan City-23, accused the park administration of negligence, which led to the tragic incident. According to him, although Dhruve had been terrorizing human settlements for a long time, the park administration ignored repeated requests to control it.

He said, 'Locals informed many times. But due to lack of timely effective action, two innocent citizens lost their lives today. Now, Dhruve must be brought under control immediately, and long-term plans must be implemented to reduce human-wildlife conflict.'

According to locals, the wild elephant known as 'Dhruve' has been terrorizing settlements around Chitwan National Park for many years. Incidents of entering villages at night, destroying houses, destroying crops, and attacking people have been repeated. Many incidents of human and property damage caused by Dhruve's attacks in Chitwan and surrounding areas have been reported before.