Chitwan, July 6 -- On December 16, 2012, Shanichara Bote sat motionless at the Baruwa bazaar in Madi, alongside the lifeless bodies of his father Budhiram and mother Jharali. They had just been trampled to death by Dhurbe, a notorious wild male elephant that had begun terrorising the fringes of Chitwan National Park.

In the wake of that tragedy, Shanichara uprooted his entire life to escape the persistent threat of wildlife encroachment. He crossed the Reu river, bypassed the core national park boundaries and moved across the Rapti river to settle down in Jagatpur. Yet, despite his desperate migration, the shadow of the rogue elephant followed him.

On Sunday afternoon, Shanichara was found sitting in a state of profound shock inside the...