HYDERABAD: Renowned sharp shooter from Hyderabad, Nawab Shafat Ali Khan has shot down a rogue elephant on Friday which had killed 11 people in Sahebganj district of Jharkhand and four people in neighbouring Bihar apart from wrecking havoc in many villages by destroying homes and fields of tribals.
Khan said that he reached Jharkhand on August 9 on invitation from the state government to bring down the elephant after efforts by teams of forest department staff from Jharkhand and WB did not bear fruit.
Elephant is an endangered species protected under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act. However, Khan said that he tried his best to tranquilize the elephant before killing it. He said, “The forest was very thick and there were intermittent rains. The visibility was very restricted. It was proving very difficult to take aim. Moreover, tracking the elephant was also becoming tough. Overnight the elephant was travelling as far as 20 kilometers and was destroying homes of people and injuring them. So, the decision to shoot it had to be taken.”
Khan said that he had a brush with death before taking down the elephant with his .458 Winchester magnum rifle.
He said, “The elephant charged at me and was just ten meters away when I took my shot. It was a narrow escape for me.”
Khan, who is advisor to forest departments of five States, has killed seven such elephants till now and is called for his services across the country.