WB: 6 elephants mowed down by train, locals block tracks

Locals blocked tracks in Jalpaiguri town station for about one hour on Thursday to protest the death of six jumbos by a train inside Chapramari forests in the district.

The protestors were demanding that the speed of trains passing through the Chapramari wildlife sanctuary stretch be restricted to 25 - 40 km/hr, police said. The blockade did not much affect the train movement and was withdrawn in a hour's time, railway sources said. Meanwhile, carcasses of six elephants were being removed from the spot, forest officials said.

At least six pachyderms were mowed down by a Guwahati-bound passenger train inside Chapramari forests, around 18 km from the Banarhat police station, on Wednesday night when a herd of around 40 jumbos was crossing the railway tracks. On September 22, 2010, a goods train in Dooars had mowed down seven elephants, about 500 km north of Kolkata.

West Bengal forest department officials had filed an FIR against the Railways for their negligence behind the incident.