Twin Fatalities Near Katarniaghat Deepen Fear Along Indo-Nepal Forest Belt

A fresh wave of anxiety has gripped villages in the Bahraich district and neighbouring areas along the Indo-Nepal border after two deaths within 24 hours were linked to suspected elephant encounters inside the Katarniaghat Wildlife Division.

The first incident occurred on Saturday in the Nishangarh range, where 47-year-old Munni Devi lost her life in what officials believe was a confrontation with a wild elephant.

Her sons, Karan and Arjun, who were accompanying her, suffered injuries.

According to a statement heard in a locally circulated video, the family had travelled from Lakhimpur Kheri to Bahraich for medical treatment and were returning home on a motorcycle when the animals allegedly charged at them.

Before the area could recover from the shock, another tragedy unfolded on Sunday evening.

A herd estimated at nearly 30 elephants reportedly reached the Katiyara forest outpost, where 80-year-old priest Suresh Das — caretaker of a nearby temple and resident of Bardia village — was attacked.

He was taken to a hospital but was declared dead.

Forest personnel stationed at the outpost narrowly escaped harm after the herd surrounded the premises, forcing them to retreat until reinforcements arrived.

Divisional Forest Officer Apoorva Dixit said both bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination and the precise cause of death will only be confirmed once medical reports are received.

Herd movement under watch

Officials suspect the animals may have strayed across the international boundary from Nepal’s Shuklaphanta forest landscape in search of fodder and water — a recurring seasonal pattern in the Terai belt.

The department has intensified surveillance, mapping movement corridors and alerting settlements located along forest fringes.

Teams are conducting door-to-door awareness drives, urging residents to avoid night travel near wooded areas.

As preventive measures, forest staff are using traditional deterrents such as burning chilli-mixed hay, sounding sirens and bursting crackers to push the herd away from habitations.

In earlier cases, elephants have even broken border fencing, highlighting the porous nature of wildlife corridors between India and Nepal.

The pattern of conflict is growing.

Human-elephant confrontations in the Terai region have increased over recent months:

• December 2025, Lakhimpur Kheri: A 50-year-old farmer was trampled while guarding sugarcane fields at night.
• November, Pilibhit: A 61-year-old villager was found dead in a hut close to his home, suspected to have been killed by an elephant.
• October, Pilibhit: Another farmer suffered serious injuries in a similar encounter.

Similar incidents have been reported elsewhere

Assam – Sonitpur & Goalpara districts:
Recently, villagers in Sonitpur’s Biswanath forest fringe reported a herd destroying granaries and killing a cultivator who tried to drive them away at night.

In Goalpara district, elephants entered a riverside settlement, flattening several huts and fatally injuring an elderly resident during panic evacuation.

Chhattisgarh – Surguja & Jashpur region:
In northern Chhattisgarh’s Surguja forest belt, a migrating herd moving between Jharkhand and Odisha trampled a farmer working near paddy fields.

In Jashpur district, forest guards had to evacuate an entire hamlet after elephants repeatedly entered habitations, where one villager was killed, and multiple houses were damaged.

Authorities say such incidents underline the growing overlap between shrinking wildlife habitat and expanding human settlements.

Until long-term corridor protection and crop-protection strategies are implemented, forest officials fear the region may continue to witness dangerous encounters.

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