Rogue elephant killed

INDIA’S top hunter told at the weekend how he felled a rogue elephant which had killed 15 people in a series of attacks since March.

Nawab Shafat Ali Khan said he shot the elephant just hours after being called in by authorities. Ironically, Saturday was World Elephant Day.

Khan said he shot the elephant at point-blank range, but before the animal fell it tried to swing its trunk at the hunting party, forcing him to fire a second time.

“It was a dangerous operation,” Khan said of the hunt in Sahibganj district of the eastern state of Jharkhand. The marauding elephant crushed four victims in Bihar state in March before crossing into neighbouring Jharkhand and killing 11 more.