Kin departs with body of retired Lt Colonel killed by jumbo during trial

Alipurduar: The body of retired Lieutenant Colonel Sandeep Chowdhury was taken from Alipurduar District Hospital on Friday, following an autopsy conducted at the hospital morgue. His family members, including his younger brother Suresh Chowdhury and brother-in-law Neeraj Jain, arrived in Alipurduar after receiving news of his death. Overcome with grief, they broke down in front of the hospital morgue.

Several Indian Army officers also visited the hospital to pay their respects.

The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon during a trial of the Intrusion Elephant Detection System (IEDS) near Rajabhatkhawa Station in Alipurduar. Sandeep Chowdhury, an official of a private engineering firm contracted to install the system, was fatally attacked by Jonaki, a Kumki elephant brought from Buxa Tiger Reserve for the trial. The exercise was being conducted in the presence of North East Frontier Railway General Manager Chetan Kumar Srivastava and other senior railway officials.

After the attack, Chowdhury was rushed to Alipurduar District Hospital in critical condition, where doctors declared him dead. Following the post-mortem on Friday, his family departed for Guwahati by road, intending to transport his body to Delhi for the final rites.

His brother, Suresh Chowdhury, expressed deep sorrow, saying: “We received the tragic news on Thursday. We do not blame anyone; this was fate. Sandeep was repeatedly asked to stay home, but he chose to take on this assignment. His sudden passing has devastated our family, especially with his only daughter’s wedding scheduled for April 12.” Officials from the Indian Army, Railways and Forest department refrained from commenting on the accident.