Tension escalated in the otherwise calm town after a verbal duel broke out between Ayyappa devotees and Bairi Naresh, who went to the town on the invitation of an athiests' meeting.
During interrogation, Ayyappa told police that he used to take the bike from the garage he used to work and start chasing lonely woman on isolated stretch daily.
One of the oldest elephants in captivity in the country, Rani joined the zoo in October 1963, and over the decades has been popular with citizens leading the annual Bonalu and Muharrum processions