Though he had no case in court, a tusker entered the Haridwar district court premises on Wednesday after breaking the main gate and creating chaos.
The elephant had crossed the boundary of Rajaji Tiger Reserve (RTR) and intruded into the premises of the district collectorate in Roshnabad, from where it moved towards the district court.
A video of the incident is being widely circulated on social media, showing some men yelling to shoo away the elephant.
Teams of forest guards have now been deployed by RTR and Haridwar forest division to prevent such intrusion.
DFO Neeraj Sharma told reporters, "It is the first time an elephant entered the court premises. The court building and the district collectorate office are close to the Haridwar range of RTR. The main gate of the court was partially damaged as the elephant hit the gate to open it. The administration of RTR is now installing solar fencing and repairing the damaged wall from where wild elephants often enter. We have also deployed forest guards to shoo away the elephants."
Instances of elephants straying into human habitats are on the rise in Haridwar district, and the number has gone up considerably in the last few weeks.
According to the forest sources, 35 such incidents have been recorded in the last month in which elephants crossed RTR limits and reached residential areas.
"Most of the intrusion incidents took place in Kankhal, Pathri, and Bhogpur regions. This part is an old migration route of elephants where residential colonies have been developed now. SIDCUL and BHEL residential areas are also vulnerable. We have deployed forest guards to stop any untoward incidents," the DFO said.
(With inputs from IANS)
