Captive elephant turns violent, runs amok in Kochi

The captive elephant that ran amok at Edakochi on Wednesday (March 5, 2025).

Panic prevailed at Edakochi here for nearly four hours after a captive elephant brought for a temple festival ran amok destroying scores of vehicles and temple property on Wednesday around 5 p.m.

The elephant was identified as Oottoli Mahadevan. It was brought from Thrissur. The elephant reportedly turned violent while being given a bath in the temple pond. In the process, it damaged two cars, a van, around eight motorcycles, and a cycle parked on the temple premises. The lorry that was used to transport the elephant, a part of the temple compound wall, CCTV cameras, and electric posts were also damaged.

Reportedly, the elephant was provoked after being beaten up by its second mahout. Following the incident, the elephant squad, police, and fire and rescue services personnel rushed to the spot.

Efforts by the elephant squad to bring the animal under control failed initially. As the elephant continued to scare away anyone who approached it, chaining it became a challenge. Though it was tethered four times using a thick rope, the elephant tore it down all four times leaving people increasingly scared as hours passed.

They demanded that the animal be given a tranquillising shot citing that the temple was bang in the middle of a residential area. Eventually, when it calmed down a bit, the elephant squad and mahouts of other elephants managed to tether it after nearly four hours.

Traffic through the area was affected following the incident. Power supply was also hit after the elephant uprooted an electric pole. The police had to resort to lathi charge to disperse the crowd.