Three elephants went berserk at the Guruvayur temple on Sunday, 11 December, resulting in the death of a mahout (a person who works with and rides elephants) based on reports from The Times of India.
An elephant named Sreekrishnan was the first to run amok, followed by Gopikrishnan and Ravikrishnan, in the midst of the crowded temple.
The elephants were being paraded in the Sheeveli procession as the Sabarimala season had begun, resulting in the huge rush of pilgrims at the temple.
The mahout, who was killed by Sreekrishnan and was also his mahout, was identified as Kothachira Veluthedath Subash, 37, of Peringode village near Kunnamkulam.
Around 12 people were injured during the mayhem according to The Times of India.
Sreekrishnan finally came to a rest when he got stuck at the prasadam distribution counters, while the other two elephants were restrained outside the temple. The priest, who at the time of the mayhem was holding the thidambu (replica of the idol), had a narrow escape as he jumped off before Gopikrishnan entered a narrow passage in front of the Bhagavathi temple.
VK Venkitachalam, secretary, Heritage Animal Task Force (HATF) told The Times of India that the 51 elephants maintained by the Guruvayur Devaswom must be transferred to a sanctuary, and should be free of chains when within the boundaries of the sanctuary. He goes on the say that this is not the first time such an incident has occurred, but in fact, 66 more have occurred in the past year.
Additionally, the parading of the elephants inside the temple, while it was crowded, is a safety issue.
Even some devotees agree the elephants should not be paraded in the temple and claimed that Sreekrishnan has a streak of violence, and had even gored a devotee in the temple a few years ago.
(Inputs from The Times of India)
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