Jagiroad, Morigaon:
A day after the elephant was officially declared a Heritage Animal, entitling it to the same sort of protection as the tiger, a video has captured villagers in Assam beating a baby elephant to death.
The three-year-old calf had was injured and had been abandoned by his herd. Villagers are seen in the video riding on the injured calf, while policemen watch.
The villagers then attacked the calf with spears and sticks till he died.
The conflict between elephants and humans in Assam has been escalating. With forests widely encroached, elephants are forced to stray out of their habitat and sometimes destroy paddy fields, prompting attacks by villagers.
A fortnight ago, four elephants were found dead in tea gardens near Kaziranga. Experts said they seemed to have been poisoned.