Toddler killed in stampede as jumbos run amok

IRINJALAKKUDA: A two-year-old boy was killed and 68 people injured after a stampede broke out when three elephants ran amok during the ‘aarattu’ ritual of the Koodalmanikyam Temple here on Sunday. The deceased has been identified as Yadukrishnan of Kannathu house at Kombara in Irinjalkuda. The condition of the 11 injured is stated to be critical.The mishap occurred around 9.30 am when the police gave a ritualistic Royal Salute to the presiding deity of the temple. On hearing the heavy gun firing sound, the elephant, Kalakuthu Kannan, ran frantically to the south side of the temple. The other two elephants, Cherppulaserry Ayyappan and Thirumaradi Kunnummal Parashuraman, the idol carrying elephant and the accompanying elephant, respectively, followed  suit, triggering a commotion on the temple premises.  Meanwhile, people who had thronged the temple ran helter-skelter, resulting in a gruesome stampede.The injured have been admitted to the Irinjalakuda Taluk Hospital, Co-operative Hospital and a few other private hospitals in and around Thrissur. Though the police team camped in the temple rushed the toddler to the nearest hospital, the doctors declared him dead on arrival. Later, the Elephant Squad and mahouts brought the elephants under control. The Thrissur-based Heritage Animal Task Force demanded a high-level investigation into the incident. It alleged that the elephants were paraded for the ‘aarattu’ without obtaining permission from the Forest Department and the Elephant Squad. This is the third time in the last five years that elephants ran amok during the Royal Salute ceremony at the temple. Notably, a minor stampede had left six people injured at the same venue on Saturday after a rumour that an elephant went berserk triggered panic among the crowd of people.Koodalmanikyam temple has witnessed eight cases of elephant fury since 2000. Five people have been killed and more than 300 were injured during this period.With the latest mishap, 18 people have been killed (including two kids, two women, four men and 10 mahouts) in in similar incidents in central Kerala since last November. Recently, 62 people were injured during the Thrissur Pooram proceedings when people ran for life after an elephant went on a rampage.