GUWAHATI: Three women tourists from West Bengal's Hooghly district were injured after falling off an elephant they were riding inside Kaziranga National Park on Monday.
The incident took place in the Bagori range of Kaziranga after the jumbo carrying them engaged in a tusssle with another elephant. The injured have been identified as Shikha Singha (50), Shrilakha Singha (26) and Pritima Dutta (51).
Divisional forest officer Ramesh Gogoi said all three of them were immediately rushed to Jorhat Medical College Hospital. Wile Shrilakha sustained a back injury, the other two have been discharged from hospital.
KNP director Jatindra Sarma said both the elephants and their mahouts have been barred from carrying tourists this season. "The incident happened due to the negligence of the mahouts. The mahouts could have avoided the tussle had they been careful," he added.
Tapan Dutta, husband of Pritima who witnessed the incident, said: "The mahouts kept the elephants so close that there was always a chance of confrontation. The two elephants confronted each other twice."
Kangkan Kalita is a reporter with The Times of India and covers i...
Read MoreKangkan Kalita is a reporter with The Times of India and covers issues on health, education, stories of human interest while keeping a close watch on political developments and student movements. Reporting on environment and forest related issues and concerns of the northeast interest him equally.
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