Two persons were crushed to death when a wild elephant ran amok in Bihar's Nawada district. A team from the forest department was trying to catch the elephant, which has also destroyed crops.while water spiked with herbicide to poison Unnao girls which led to the death of two of them, had been mixed with Sulfosulfuron, a herbicide, police said on Thursday.
A forest official said the elephant entered Babhanauli village in Nardiganj on Wednesday night and killed Vinod Chauhan (55).
On Thursday morning, the elephant caught Anandi Singh (62) while he was out in Hisua. It picked him up and then slammed him on the ground, which led to Singh's death, officials said.
Fear has gripped the Nardiganj and Hisua areas as the elephant continues to be at large.
Nawada forest division officer A.K. Ojha told IANS that a team of experts had been called from Gaya and Patna to catch the elephant. He said that three teams from the forest department were trying to trap the elephant.
Forest Area Officer (Ranger) Sanjay Kumar said the elephant arrived in Nawada from Jharkhand's Chatra. It first created trouble in the Sirdala Block area, then it came towards the Hisua and Nardiganj areas, Kumar said, adding that efforts were being made to drive the elephant back to the forest or capture it.
The water given to the three Unnao girls, which led to the death of two of them, had been mixed with Sulfosulfuron, a herbicide, police said on Thursday.
The report of the chemical analysis of the viscera of the two girls found dead on February 17 night, released by the Forensic Science laboratory (FSL), Lucknow, has revealed the presence of Sulfosulfuron in their vital organs.
Unnao Superintendent of Police (SP) Anand Kulkarni said the accused used Sulfosulfuron, which is an odourless herbicide, to poison the water.
"It was due to this that the girls did not realise they were being poisoned. Besides, the water of the hand-pump from which the bottle was filled is poor in taste," he added.
The SP said the police will now find out from where the accused had bought Sulfosulfuron.
The incident took place in the Babuhara village on February 17 when the girls, who had gone to collect fodder for cattle, were found lying unconscious in the field by their family members.
The third girl, who is recuperating at a private hospital, said in her statement to police and magistrate that the accused Vinay did not indulge in any kind of sexual assault but had given them a packet of chips which they refused. He then offered his bottle of water and they fell unconscious soon after drinking the water.
The girl said the water of a nearby hand pump tastes poor, hence they did not suspect anything wrong.
