Elephant named Ravipuram Govindan turned restive on its way from the morning pooja at the Poornathreyesa Temple here on Saturday morning. It took to the Chitrapuzha River nearby.
The incident happened around 6.30 a.m.. Police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel were rushed to the spot immediately. The elephant kept swimming in the river till around 10.30 a.m., and the police had a hard time controlling the crowd that gathered to catch a glimpse.
It was finally made to climb out of the river at Gandharva Temple Ghat at Champakkara and chained at the Ottupura grounds later. The elephant that belonged to the Cochin Devaswom Board has killed its mahout while in musth at Shenoy’s Junction here in 2002.
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Cochin Devaswom Board officials said the morning ‘seeveli’ or pooja was completed by replacing Ravipuram Govindan with another elephant named Sreehari of Poornathrayesa Seva Sanghom.
Staff Reporter from Palakkad adds:
A domesticated tusker ‘Vanamohan’ that ran amok when it was unchained from its owner Krishnan’s house at Moothanthara around 11 a.m. on Saturday, created a scare for nearly two hours in the K.R.K. Kalyanamandapam area close to the busy Big Bazar market in the town.
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The tusker went berserk and tried to pull down one of the mahouts sitting on top.
Sensing danger, the mahout jumped and escaped. There were two other mahouts accompanying the elephant but their attempts to clam the animal down did not succeed.
The elephant continued to run through the busy market area creating a scare among people.
It tried to hit some vehicles on the way but there was no attempt to attack the passers by or the crowd that had assembled to witness the incident.
After some time, its owner Krishnan came to the scene and tried to calm the tusker.
Meanwhile the mahouts hooked an iron rope in the chain of the elephant and tied it to a nearby electric poll.
Gradually, the elephant that was fed banana, palm leaf and water and was brought under control. It was then taken back to the owner’s house.
The police who reached the scene tried to control the crowd that had assembled in the area.