A mahout was injured after an elephant turned violent during a religious gathering at the Annamanada Mahadeva temple in Thrissur district – a video of the incident is now doing the rounds on the internet.
The decorated elephant was brought to the temple premises as part of a religious procession. As preparations were underway to place the idol of the deity on the elephant, the massive animal went on a rampage, grabbing the mahout’s 26-year-old assistant Vivek with its trunk and throwing him into the air.
The mahout was able to bring the elephant back under control soon after the incident, preventing further damage. However, the injured assistant sustained serious injuries and was immediately taken to hospital where he is currently receiving treatment.
The incident has again raised concerns about security arrangements during temple festivals with elephants, especially at crowded religious gatherings.
Police officer trampled to death by wild elephant
Meanwhile, a policeman was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday.
ASI Martin Lego (40) of Sunpura police station along with two friends went to the banks of Lohit river for an outing on Saturday.
They came across the elephant around 10.30am and while his friends managed to escape, Lego was trampled to death by the pachyderm, Superintendent of Police (SP) Lohit Thutan Jamba said.
A case of unnatural death has been registered at the Sunpura police station and the body has been handed over to his family for last rites after post-mortem, the SP added.
No case of elephant attack has been reported in Sunpura area in the past.
Jamba said he has spoken to the DC to issue an advisory asking villagers to avoid afforestation or riverine areas as a precautionary measure.
The forest department also said efforts would be launched to find and capture the elephant, the SP said, adding that the animal might have been injured, which might have triggered its aggressive behaviour.
(With inputs from news agency PTI)
