An elephant calf was seriously injured after being hit by a speeding car on Asian Highway 2 at Dewm here on Thursday night.
The incident occurred while the calf was crossing the road with its mother.
A search operation was launched by forest officials along with local people.
The injured calf was found and tranquilised and treated by a veterinary surgeon. It has a serious injury on its left foreleg.
"A Wagon R car hit an elephant calf on the road between Naxalbari and Bagdogra. The forest department and the police should ensure that there are no accidents as it is an elephant corridor. The vehicles should slow down in this area," Niren Roy, a local resident said.
"Yesterday around 10 pm, when two elephants were trying to cross this road, they were hit by a car. The owner and two co-accused were booked under Wildlife Protection Act and relevant sections of IPC," Sheikh Fareed, Divisional Forest Officer of Kurseong Forest Division said.
"We tranquilised the elephant calf, treated it and administered antibiotics and pain killer as its foreleg was badly injured. We will keep it under observation for the next two days and then leave it into the forest," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )