BUTEX student killed by wild elephant in Rangamati

A student of the Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX) was killed after being attacked by a wild elephant in Rangamati. 

The deceased Avishek Paul, 21, resident of Dhaka’s Tejgaon, was a second-year student at BUTEX.

The incident took place in the Kamillachhari area of Kaptai-Asambasti road on Thursday morning when Avishek, along with his friends, was returning to Rangamati Sadar from Kaptai upazila.

Speaking to this correspondent, Avishek’s classmate Sadman Sobhan said when they were on their way from Kaptai Proshanti Park to Rangamati Sadar, they came across two elephants at 9am. 

“As Avishek ran towards the forest for cover, an elephant followed and stomped on him,” he added.

He was critically injured and died on the way to the nearest upazila health complex.

Confirming Thursday’s incident, Forest Department’s (Kaptai Range) Range Officer Mohsin Talukder said that a person-with-disability was killed in an elephant attack in the same area on Sunday.

On Wednesday, a woman was killed after she was attacked by a group of wild elephants in Lama upazila of Bandarban.

Across the world, big herds of elephants, faced with shrinking forest cover and human encroachment of their corridors, venture into human settlements looking for food and attack those who try to stop them. 

Similarly, due to the ever-increasing deforestation in the hills leading to a crisis of food and habitat for wild animals, frequent elephant attacks are witnessed in Lama, Alikadam, Naikhongchhari, and Sadar upazilas of the district.