NGT Seeks Responses in Assam Elephant-Train Case, Sets Jan. 28 Hearing

Overview

• The NGT issued notices after impleading the CPCB, Assam’s environment department, the principal chief conservator of forests, and the Assam State Pollution Control Board.
• The case has been listed before the tribunal’s eastern zonal bench in Kolkata on January 28.
• Seven elephants were killed and a calf was injured when the Sairang–New Delhi Rajdhani Express struck a herd near Changjurai village in Hojai on December 20, 2025.
• The impact derailed the train’s engine and five coaches on the Jamunamukh–Kampur section under the Lumding division.
• Assam’s chief minister ordered an inquiry, with officials citing dense fog as a possible factor as a wildlife group alleged a breach of a 2014 Supreme Court speed-limit order.