Rampaging Ramlila Elephant Injures Mahout in Varanasi, Gorakhpur Team Called In

Rampage in Varanasi

A Ramlila elephant went out of control at the Panchvati ground in Ramnagar, Varanasi, on Sunday morning, severely injuring its mahout. The incident occurred around 10:30 to 11:00 am when the mahout, identified in reports as Chaplu, was tending to the animal. The startled elephant attacked the mahout, picked him up and threw him down, leaving him with serious injuries. The injured mahout was rushed to the BHU Trauma Center for treatment.

Area Sealed Off

Following the attack, the animal wandered out of the ground onto the streets, breaking walls, shutters of houses, gates, and uprooting trees and electricity poles. Police and local teams quickly moved in, sealing off a two-kilometer radius and setting up barricades to keep people away. Inspector Sanjay Mishra stated that officials threw sugarcane in front of the elephant to distract and keep it in one place. With local forest department teams lacking adequate equipment, a special expert team was dispatched from Gorakhpur to safely control the animal. Authorities also cut off power supply in the Ramnagar Panchvati area after the elephant damaged a 33,000-volt line and electrical boxes.

Context

The historic Ramnagar Ramlila, which dates back about two hundred years, regularly features elephants and large-scale traditional enactments that draw massive crowds. Incidents involving large captive animals turning restless highlight the immense challenges authorities face when managing wildlife during crowded public events. While local police, forest officials, and disaster response personnel work to secure the area, specialized interventions from outside districts are often required when standard local resources fall short.