By Express News Service
GUWAHATI: An irate mob torched a forest range office in Assam on Thursday after a wild buffalo gored a man to death.
The incident was reported from a village in Biswanath district. The office torched comes under the one-horned rhino fame Kaziranga National Park.
“A wild buffalo killed one person this morning and people torched our Biswanath range office as well as a vehicle in protest,” the park’s director P Sivakumar told this newspaper.
The victim was identified as Jayanta Das of Muttackgaon. A grievously-injured Das was taken to a hospital by forest officials but he succumbed to his injuries later.
The site is adjacent to the park’s Sixth Addition on the north bank of the Brahmaputra. Most of Kaziranga is on the river’s south bank.
After news about the man’s death spread, the locals became furious and resorted to arson. They held the forest officials solely responsible for the incident.
“The buffalo arrived at Biswanath Ghat after swimming across the Brahmaputra. As it was charging at people, we had informed the forest department. If it had taken some urgent measures to drive it away, this unfortunate incident would not have happened,” a local told said.
Sivakumar said a rhino had poked a man to death in the same area last year. “It is a border area. Sometimes, people also go to animal area,” he said.
