A 68-year-old woman pilgrim was seriously injured when she was attacked by a temple elephant brought for the Vilkkinezhunnellippu ceremony at Sabarimala on Sunday afternoon.
According to the Sub Inspector at the Sannidhanam Police Station, B. Vinodkumar, the injured pilgrim has been identified as Baby of Bhargavi Nilayam at Varkala in Thiruvananthapurm district.
Irritated
The incident occurred when the pachyderm, Malayikeezhu Sreevallabhan, that was tethered near Malikappuram turned irritated for a while when a wild boar jumped across as a speeding tractor passed by.
The elephant, attended by its mahout, was drinking water. The irritated elephant had attacked the woman pilgrim who was standing nearby, breaking her ribs.
Under control
However, the pachyderm was brought under control by the mahouts soon.
The injured woman was rushed to the nearby Sannidhanam Government Hospital and from there to the Government Medical College Hospital at Kottayam, later.
Parading stopped
The Devaswom Executive Officer, B.L. Renukumar, told The Hindu that parading of the caparisoned elephant as part of the ceremonial Vilakkinezhuthellathu procession was done away with for Sunday evening.
