The Hindu : Yet another pachyderm runs amok, kills mahout

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 03, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Yet another pachyderm runs amok, kills mahout

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI FEB 2. Ten days after a mahout was killed by a tusker in "musth" here, another tusker went wild and killed its second mahout, early this morning at Aluva, near here.

This is the third incident in Ernakulam district of an elephant running amok and goring to death its mahout. The other incidents occurred at a temple festival venue in Tripunithura and in the heart of Kochi the other day.

Today's incident occurred at Chalakkal, Thottumukham, when the elephant, Mohanan, turned violent and killed its second mahout - Thankachan (45). The drama began at 5.30 a.m. and ended only at 7.30 a.m., when the elephant was brought under control by firing of tranquilliser shots.

The Aluva police said the elephant was returning after the "chandanakudam" festival at the Thottumukham mosque, when an autorickshaw hit its first mahout, Balakrishnan (38) of Kothamangalam and knocked him unconscious. The elephant panicked and turned violent, overturning a lorry and a mini lorry and uprooting some electric posts. The victim was atop the elephant when these incidents took place.

Veterinary surgeon, Abraham Tharakan, who was summoned from Tripunithura, fired the tranquilliser shots. But it turned more aggressive, grabbed Thankachan using its trunk, shook him violently and threw him down, before attempting to gore him using its tusks. It again took the crying mahout by its trunk and flung him to a distance, in the presence of hundreds of onlookers and police. A man gathered courage to get near the victim and pull him away.

The bleeding mahout was rushed to the Karothukuzhy Hospital, Aluva, but was declared dead. Traffic was held up for over two hours in the Aluva-Perumbavoor route, till the tusker was taken to an isolated place. The victim is survived by wife, Omana, and children, Bindu and Sandeep.

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Yet another pachyderm runs amok, kills mahout