Chittoor: A wild elephant went on a rampage at a village in Chittoor district on Wednesday morning and killed a couple working in an agriculture field after grievously injuring a man who tried to click pictures with it on his phone.
Chittoor district forest officer (DFO) Chaitanya Kumar Reddy said, “It first attacked a man who tried to take a selfie with it and later killed the couple.” A cow was also trampled to death by the jumbo, he added.
The incident occurred at 190 Ramapuram village of Gudipala mandal, which is about 15 km away from Chittoor town around 7:30 am this morning.
According to the DFO, the pachyderm strayed away from its herd in Tamil Nadu and is still roaming in the village. The forest department has deployed 60 personnel to chase it away, including taking the help of kumkis (trained elephants).
Meanwhile, the incident created panic among villagers who staged a protest along the Chennai highway against elephant attacks. Authorities rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the agitators. They also assured a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the victims.