Tiruchendur temple elephant ‘Deivanai’ tramples mahout, his relative, to death

In a shocking incident, the temple elephant - Deivanai - at the famous Subramanian Swamy temple in Tiruchendur trampled the mahout and his relative to death on Monday.

Following this, the temple was shut for devotees till 3.30 p.m. Only after the pujas (parihara pujas) were performed, the shrine was open to the public at around 4 p.m.

It is said that when ‘Deivanai’ was in the fenced portion, the assistant mahout S Udaykumar (45) of VOC Nagar here was on duty and in charge of the pachyderm. His relative K Sisubalan (57) of Kanniyakumari was also present at the spot.

Suddenly, at around 4.30 a.m., the elephant had attacked Sisubalan. Shocked, when Udaykumar attempted to rescue, he too suffered assaults. While Sisubalan died on the spot, the assistant mahout was rushed to the Tiruchendur Government Hospital, where he died after the treatment failed, doctors said.

As the news spread, the head mahout Radhakrishnan came to the spot and sprinkled water on the pachyderm and it was sent back to the cage and chained as a precautionary measure, temple staff said.

Senior officials from the Forest Department arrived and held inquiries with the staffs in the temple. Doctors from the veterinary department and police officers were present. They examined the CCTV footage and watched the elephant’s movements.

A few of the officials, who had visited the shrine and held inquiries told The Hindu that the pachyderm may have overworked or suffered injuries during ceremonies. The pain could have irritated or aggravated it and turned violent. We have to physically examine, they added.

When asked about the presence of the assistant mahout’s relative, the officials said that the police probe was inconclusive.

Tiruchendur temple is the second (rendaam padai) shrine among the Aarupadai veedu (of Lord Murugan) which is famous and attracts large number of devotees from all over the globe for its annual festivals.

The death of two people in the shrine by the temple elephant shocked the devotees. Recounting their experience, some of the local devotees and shopkeepers in the vicinity said that they would seek the blessings of ‘Deivanai’ before entering the shrine.

Further investigation was on.

Published - November 19, 2024 08:22 am IST