Kerala temple elephant kills mahout, another critically injured

A mahout was trampled to death and another seriously injured after a temple elephant turned violent in Haripad, Alappuzha. The elephant, in musth, attacked twice on Sunday. Police have registered a case, while the survivor remains critical in hospital

Alappuzha (Kerala): A mahout died and another sustained serious injuries after being trampled by a captive elephant at a temple in Haripad in this coastal district on Sunday, police said on Monday.

The deceased was identified as Muralidharan Nair (53) of Edapponmuri, Nooranad, Alappuzha. According to police, he was the chief handler of Skandan, an elephant owned by a Subrahmanya temple in Haripad.

---

Police said the elephant, which has been in musth, was tied at the house of the temple priest for the past few months. Musth is a condition of heightened aggression and unpredictable behaviour occurring annually in male elephants during which there will be a surge in testosterone levels.

During this phase, temporal glands would become swollen, and a substance can be seen seeping from between its eye and ear. Meanwhile, Skandan turned violent at noon on Sunday and attacked another mahout, Sunil Kumar. Muralidharan rushed to the spot and initially brought the animal under control.

Sunil suffered serious injuries in the attack and was admitted to a hospital nearby, police said. However, around 3.30 pm, while shifting the elephant to the temple, Skandan turned violent again and attacked Muralidharan, a police officer said.

According to the FIR, the elephant pressed Muralidharan to the ground with its head for several minutes. Other mahouts managed to subdue the animal and rushed Muralidharan to a hospital in Parumala, where he succumbed to injuries around 11 pm, police said.

Haripad police have registered a case of unnatural death and launched an investigation. According to police, Sunil Kumar’s condition remains critical. The body of the deceased will be handed over to his relatives after the postmortem, police added.