Killer Indian elephant nicknamed Osama bin Laden dies after week in captivity
- The rogue elephant, which had killed five villagers in Assam state, was captured and moved to a sanctuary
- But it died less than a week later, with officials admitting its feet were tied to prevent it from escaping
The male animal – nicknamed “Laden” – was tracked for days by forestry officers and tranquillised on Monday after a deadly October rampage killed five villagers in Goalpara, in the northeastern state of Assam.
It was renamed after the Hindu god Krishna and moved to Assam’s Orang National Park where officials planned to teach it to patrol wildlife parks and sanctuaries in the state.
“The animal was behaving as normal. It was, however, kept with its legs tied so that it couldn’t escape,” said a park ranger, who asked to remain anonymous.
The keeper reported the animal dead at roughly 5am (10:30 GMT) on Sunday, he said.
The cause of death was unclear, but a senior official said the state government had sent a team of veterinary surgeons to carry out an autopsy.
