Elephant kills autorickshaw driver while being fed jaggery in Indore; mahout booked

A 49-year-old autorickshaw driver, Vijay Holkar, was trampled to death by an elephant while feeding it jaggery outside a police station in Indore. Police booked the mahout for negligence and are investigating whether permission was obtained to bring the elephant into the city

Indore: An elephant trampled a 49-year-old autorickshaw driver to death while he was feeding it jaggery in Indore, police said on Monday.

The CCTV footage of the incident, which occurred on Saturday in front of the city’s Raj Nagar police station, has surfaced on social media. A case has been registered against mahout Umesh Goswami on charges of negligence in controlling the jumbo, the police said.

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The autorickshaw driver, identified as Vijay Holkar, had gone to feed jaggery to the elephant when it pushed him to the ground with its trunk. During the incident, the mahout hit the elephant near its head with a stick, making it uncontrollable, a police official said. The elephant then lifted the victim with its trunk, threw him down, and trampled his stomach. The seriously injured victim was first taken to the district hospital. He was later shifted to a private hospital, where he died during treatment, he said.

A doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination stated that the autorickshaw driver suffered serious internal injuries due to the elephant attack, which led to his death, Chandan Nagar police station in-charge Tilak Karole said.

The elephant had been brought to a social event in the city by some seers. They were roaming around the city with the jumbo, seeking alms, when Holkar arrived to feed jaggery to it, he said.

An investigation was underway to determine whether necessary permission was obtained from the forest department before bringing the elephant into a populated area, the official said.

The mahout has been booked under sections 106(1) (causing death by negligence) and 291 (negligent conduct with respect to an animal) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the police added.