Woman, daughter escape rhino attack during safari in Kaziranga; driver suspended
Kaziranga (Assam), Jan 6: A woman and her daughter had a close shave in Assam's Kaziranga National Park (KNP) when they fell off a safari vehicle with rhinos in close proximity, an official said on Monday.
The driver was suspended and an enquiry was ordered, DFO and Deputy Director of the KNP Arun Vignesh said.
The incident happened when the driver accelerated and took a sharp turn after seeing two rhinos nearby, he said adding that action will be taken on the basis of the enquiry report.
Vignesh appealed to the safari vehicle drivers to be careful while driving inside the Park.
The girl fell from the open vehicle while they were taking a safari inside the Bagori range of the KNP and her mother jumped out to pick her up, the official said.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, two rhinos were seen nearby when the incident happened. PTI, however, could not verify the authenticity of the video.
The driver, however, stopped the vehicle at a distance and the two climbed into it again, the official said.
The two were not injured, except for a few scratches, and were taken for medical aid as they were in a state of shock for a while.
The two were from the nearby Harmoti area in Nagaon district.
The official pointed out that both the drivers of the jeeps and tourists should be careful while taking a safari inside the KNP.
He urged all tourists to follow the rules strictly.
President of Kaziranga Jeep Safari Association Mohen Saikia that such an incident has never occurred before in the history of the Park and it is the ''lack of training and experience of a section of young drivers''.
He urged the authorities to arrange for proper training of the drivers.
Meanwhile, another person was injured in a rhino attack in Burapahar range of the Park when he had gone to help forest guards in some work.
The person, identified as Lakhi Teron, was admitted to a hospital and his condition was stated to be critical, a forest official said.
The KNP is a UNESCO World Heritage site which is home to nearly 3,000 greater one-horn rhinoceros.
The Park also has wild buffalo, elephants, swamp deer and tigers.
📍Assam | #Watch: Major accident during safari in Kaziranga averted as mother and daughter fall in front of rhinos, escape unscathed#Viral pic.twitter.com/AHa64faan0
— NDTV (@ndtv) January 6, 2025
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bangladesh's interim govt revokes ousted PM Sheikh Hasina's passport
Dhaka, Jan 7: Bangladesh's interim government on Tuesday said it has revoked the passport of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 96 others over their alleged involvement in enforced disappearances and the July killings.
Hasina, 77, has been living in India since August 5 last year when she fled Bangladesh following a massive student-led protest that toppled her Awami League's (AL) 16-year regime.
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former Cabinet ministers, advisers, and military and civil officials for “crimes against humanity and genocide”.
Addressing a press briefing here, Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said, "The Passports Department cancelled passports of 22 people involved in enforced disappearances, while passports of 75 people, including Sheikh Hasina, were revoked due to their involvement in the July killings.”
He, however, did not reveal the names of the remaining individuals whose passports were cancelled, the state-run BSS news agency reported.
