One of the two tuskers that have terrorised Kharagpur for the last two days entered IIT-Kharagpur on Sunday evening, triggering panic and a lockdown the institute has never seen in its history.

All the lights were switched off and the campus was shut to visitors. Announcements made on loudspeakers urged all in the  IIT and the town itself to lock themselves indoors. There is reason to be afraid. The elephants, who got separated from the herd last week, have already killed a man and critically injured an elderly woman. The one that attacked the woman is probably in IIT. Chased by villagers and foresters, the elephants split on Sunday and used the highways to move towards Midnapore and Kharagpur towns.

Over the last two days, the tuskers have demolished dozens of houses and ruined paddy fields in Palsha and Radhamohanpur villages. On Sunday morning, villagers chased them towards Balichak and the elephants hid in a paddy field. In the evening, farmer Krishna Dandapat was returning home from the field along with two companions when they surprised the elephants. The tuskers charged. Dandapat was crushed to death while his two friends were injured.

Forest officials then arran-ged a hulla party and got on their trail. The killer elephant took NH6 and headed for Midnapore. The other one took NH60. On the way, he trampled a 60-year-old woman at Koushala before strolling into the IIT campus at 7pm. Foresters followed but had a hard time tracking it down. It was finally located near Hijli School in the campus' Technomarket area but a tranquilizing dart couldn't be fired in the dark.

"There is a certain amount of panic on campus. I haven't seen the elephant but I am told that it is close," said Partha Pratim Chakraborty, dean of IIT-Kharagpur's centre for industrial relations.