THRISSUR:At the Aanayoottu neared conclusion at the Vadakkumnathan temple here, three elephants broke ranks and ran amok while they were being taken out of the temple in single file. According to Sajeesh, who witnessed the incident, there was a great frenzy among the huge crowds of devotees as they saw two elephants running away from the mahouts. “Though the tuskers did not harm anyone, the panic resulted in people jostling each other and falling down. Some sustained injuries too,” he said. However, the officials are yet to confirm reports of injury to devotees.
Three elephants -- Meenat Keshu, Pullut Unnikrishnan and Thottekkatt Lakshmi -- were the tuskers that ran amok on the temple premises, with the relatively young Meenat Keshu reportedly making it close to Chembukkavu. However, Social Forestry DFO Premchand denied all such reports and claimed that the elephants were brought under control on the spot. “While walking in a single file, the mahout of Meenat Keshu, who was walking in the front, tripped over an obstacle. This resulted in a hubbub and Pullut Unnikrishnan, who was behind Keshu, broke ranks. Seeing the running tusker, Keshu also went into a frenzy,” he said, adding that there had been no reports of injury to devotees or damage to surrounding buildings or facilities.