State animal 'elephant' killed in Jharkhand; Accused of killing 15 people

New Delhi: An elephant who was allegedly responsible for taking 15 lives in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand was reportedly killed by forest authorities on Friday in Jharkhand, just a day before World Elephant Day. If that's not enough for an irony, Indian elephant is the state animal of Jharkhand. Hunter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan, who was called from Hyderabad for the particular task, was heading the shooting camp since days and finally with two head-shots, ended the game for the animal, in the Raja Mahal Hills of Sahibganj. It is being accused that over the past six months the elephant had killed 15 people. It was declared ''rogue'' by the forest authorities in Bihar. The forest department of Jharkhand had reportedly issued a shoot-at-sight order for the elephant on Thursday. It said that no other alternative was feasible as the beast was out of control. According to reports the veterinarians at first tried to tranquilize the elephant which infuriated the animal and it charged towards them, on time the hunter took a head shot and killed it before it could attack them. The forest authorities said that they had tried and tested every other alternative but killing it turned out to be the last and the only resort. According to the authorities, tranquilising the animal required to get too close to it, which could put the veterinary doctors' life at risk. Trapping the animals was also a huge task as it required digging trenches which was not possible in the hilly terrain of the area and was also a time-consuming affair.