A temple festival took a frightening turn on Thursday when an elephant suddenly turned aggressive and lifted a priest with its trunk before throwing him to the ground, leaving him injured. The incident occurred during a procession at the Annamanada Mahadeva Temple.
Here's the video
The elephant was decorated and brought into the temple premises for a ceremonial procession. As preparations were underway to place the idol of the deity on the elephant, the mahout attempted to help a priest climb onto the animal. At that moment, the elephant became agitated and abruptly lifted another priest standing nearby, who was holding the idol, and hurled him aside with its trunk.
The priest sustained serious injuries
The mahout managed to regain control of the elephant shortly after the incident, preventing further harm. However, the injured priest sustained serious injuries and was immediately rushed to a hospital, where he is currently undergoing treatment.
The incident has once again raised concerns over safety measures during temple festivals involving elephants, especially in crowded religious events.
Policeman trampled to death by wild elephant
Earlier on February 22, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of Arunachal Pradesh Police was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Lohit district. ASI Martin Lego (40) of Sunpura police station, along with two friends, had gone to the Lohit riverbank for an outing.
Around 10.30 am, they encountered the elephant, and while his friends succeeded in escaping, Lego was trampled to death by the pachyderm, Lohit Superintendent of Police (SP) Thutan Jamba said.
Jamba said he has spoken to the DC for the issuance of an advisory asking villagers to avoid venturing into forested or riverine areas as a precautionary measure.
The forest department has also said that efforts will be initiated to locate and capture the elephant, the SP said, adding that the animal might have been injured, which could have triggered its aggressive behaviour.
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