Three people, including a child, were trampled to death by an elephant that went berserk during a ‘yajna’ in Mohammadpur Mafi village in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district on Thursday, police said.
Expressing grief over the incident, chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced compensation of ₹5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. The compensation was given to them by divisional commissioner Ravi Kumar NG and DIG J Ravindra Gaur. The CM also directed officials to ensure proper treatment of those injured.
Confirming the incident, superintendent of police (Gorakhpur North), Manoj Kumar Awasthi, said the deceased had been identified as Kaushalya Devi (50), Kanti Devi (55) and Krishna (4)—all residents of Mohammadpur Mafi village.
Officials claimed that the elephant had been brought under control. However, the villagers were in a state of fear despite the presence of a heavy police force and a team of forest officers there.
As per the officials, the villagers had planned a week-long ‘yajna’ from February 16 to 24. Many seers from Vrindavan Haridwar and Ayodhya were taking part in the ritual. On Thursday, a ‘Kalash Yatra’ was also proposed. Two elephants of a BJP MLA were booked for the yatra.
One of the two elephants ran amok after hundreds of women present at the religious event starting worshipping it too, they added. Locals claimed that the women were giving money to touch the elephant and so the mahout did not stop them.
{{/usCountry}}One of the two elephants ran amok after hundreds of women present at the religious event starting worshipping it too, they added. Locals claimed that the women were giving money to touch the elephant and so the mahout did not stop them.
{{/usCountry}}SP (North) Manoj Kumar Awasthi said police officials had succeeded in calming down the elephant and sending it to a field outside the village. He said the proposed ‘Kalash Yatra’ had also been postponed.
Abdur Rahman