The Assam government has formed an eight-member panel to study an elephant that reportedly killed five persons in Goalpara district in the past 36 hours.
The team will be led by Akashdeep Baruah, Chief Conservator of Forests in charge of the Lower Assam Zone. It includes elephant expert and veterinarian Kushal Sarma.
The elephant crushed five persons at Matia and an adjoining area. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has asked the Forest Department to pay ₹4 lakh each in compensation to the families of the killed and tranquillize the elephant and transport it to the forests.
Human-elephant conflicts have claimed the lives of 25 elephants and 30 humans in the State this year.