Itahari, January 17:

The Sunsari District Forest Office (DFO)today sent a letter to the Ministry of Forests in Kathmandu, demanding permission to kill a wild elephant which has claimed the lives of 15 persons in Sunsari.

Following an earlier appeal, the ministry had sent a three-member team to bring the elephant under control. The team tranquillised the elephant, cut its tusks and released it again. “We have sent a letter to the ministry, seeking permission to kill the elephant because there is no alternative as it is continuing its rampage,” a forest officer said.