Kerala - Thrissur   

Elephant runs amok, mahout hurt

Staff Reporter

THRISSUR: An elephant named Bastin Vinayshankar ran amok on the premises of Sankarankulangara temple at Punkunnam here on Wednesday, triggering panic .

The elephant attacked its mahout, Shajo of Chethimatom, Vypeen. Severely injured in the arm, the mahout was admitted to a private hospital and a surgery performed on him.

Eight elephants, including Bastin Vinayshankar, were kept on the premises of the temple. Vinayshankar became violent when it was being taken for food around 2.30 p.m.

The other elephants were led away from the spot by mahouts.

Vinayshankar ran amok leaving behind a trail of destruction. It uprooted a lamppost, demolished the roof of a shrine and bulldozed a lorry.

For more than an hour, the lorry became a toy for the elephant. A huge crowd gathered on the premises of the temple to watch the incident.

The elephant was shot using a tranquilliser gun by a team of veterinarians led by P.B. Giridas around 4.30 p.m.

The shot infuriated the elephant more .The elephant was brought under control around 5.30 p.m.

Animal lovers alleged that the elephant was being featured in temple festivals and made to work for long hours when it was in musth.

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