Elephants used for roadside extortion returned to owners after two years

For years, elephants could be seen on roads and highways in Bangladesh, their handlers stopping vehicles and approaching shops to collect money from drivers, passengers and traders. 

Their size and training turned into tools for extracting cash.

Two elephants removed from that life nearly two years ago have now been returned to their owners, reopening questions about the treatment of captive elephants just as the facility that sheltered them confronts scrutiny over the deaths of two other animals.

The Forest Department handed over the elephants, Samrat and Nihar Koli, to their owners on August 12 after securing written undertakings that they would not be abused, subjected to unnecessary suffering or used to collect money from the public.

Tarek Rahman, the officer-in-charge of Gazipur Safari Park in Sreepur, confirmed the handover on Thursday to Daily Waadaa. Samrat was returned to his owner, Monir Mia, and Nihar Koli to Abdul Majid.

Both animals had arrived at the park in 2024, but under markedly different circumstances.

Nihar Koli was rescued from Bhulta in Narayanganj on August 31, 2024, amid allegations that the elephant was being mistreated and used to collect money from people.

Samrat's case was more serious. The elephant was rescued after trampling his mahout, Nazrul Islam, to death in Kotalipara in Gopalganj on September 24, 2024. The Forest Department subsequently moved Samrat to the safari park.

Officials said there had also been allegations that Samrat had been used to collect money from the public.

The practice is familiar across parts of Bangladesh. Captive elephants are sometimes taken along busy roads and through commercial areas, where mahouts use them to solicit money. The sheer presence of an elephant beside a vehicle or shop can make such demands difficult to ignore.

The Forest Department's decision to return Samrat and Nihar Koli came after their owners formally sought custody of the animals.

Rahman said officials scrutinized the applications and assessed whether the owners had sufficient financial means to care for the elephants. They were also required to submit custody bonds and written undertakings before the animals could leave the park.

“After considering everything, the two elephants were handed over to their owners on the instructions of the higher authorities,” Rahman said.

Forest Conservator Md Sanaullah Patwary said the undertakings explicitly prohibited the owners from abusing the elephants or using them to collect money.

The owners signed custody bonds on 300 taka stamp papers, he said.

For Samrat, the transfer has already meant another move. Monir Mia said he had taken the elephant to the Moulvibazar area, where he would keep and care for it under his own responsibility.

But the timing of the handover has drawn attention because of another development at Gazipur Safari Park: two elephants there died on consecutive days earlier this month.

Forest officials insist the events are unrelated.

Patwary said the decision to return Samrat and Nihar Koli resulted from applications submitted earlier by their owners and was made according to established procedures, not because of the deaths at the park.

Those deaths, however, have put the park's management of elephants under renewed focus.

One of the animals, 10-year-old Raju Bahadur, had suffered a severe injury months earlier. On May 24, four-year-old Joyita attacked him inside the elephant enclosure while Raju Bahadur was chained. The attack broke one of his legs.

Officials formed a medical board to oversee his treatment. A specialist was brought from Thailand, and veterinarians in Sri Lanka were consulted as officials tried to save the injured elephant.

Raju Bahadur died on August 7.

Another elephant died at the park a day earlier, on August 6, after suffering from a bacterial infection, according to officials.

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