Wildlife officers tracked the pachyderm — dubbed “Laden” by the locals it menaced in northeastern Assam state — through a forest for several days using drones and domesticated elephants.

“We started the final leg of the operation today… Two darts were fired by experts which had tranquilised the male elephant,” a senior forestry official told AFP.

“Now the work is on to shift the elephant to a forest where there is no human habitation nearby.”

The animal killed five people, including three women, during a 24-hour rampage through Goalpara district October.