Tusker gores a woman devotee to death in Sabarimala temple

#sabarimala A tusker gored to death a 68-year-old woman devotee in Sabarimala temple and it has triggered a demand to put a stop to the use of jumbos at the shrine. The victim was killed by the jumbo that had been brought for the 'Vilakkezhunnellippu' ceremony. This has been revealed by animal rights campaigner Heritage Animal Task Force (HATF) and has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 18 January 2016.

Due to this tragic incident, the animal rights outfit has demanded stoppage of using jumbos at the hill shrine for carrying idols as part of the festivities. The Thrissur-based HATF has also sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the subject. The Prime Minister is the chairman of National Board for Wildlife and HATF has sought for stoppage of the practice of using jumbos for temple processions.
Incidentally, this particular elephant has a history of aggression - it belongs to Malayinkeezhu Sree Krishna Swamy temple and has a track record of killing two mahouts within the past four years.
Immediately after the incident, the temple authorities went ahead with the procession of the idol without using an elephant and entrusted the priest to carry the idol.
Priests carrying idols of deities during the procession is the age old practice in many temples in Kerala. However, the decision of the temple authorities to use jumbos has now proved fatal for devotees in shrines like Sabarimala. In this temple, the death of a devotee by an elephant is unheard of.
Moreover, as per elephant parade guidelines, laid down by the Supreme Court, jumbos with a track record of killing human beings must be barred from festival processions and other uses.

Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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