‘Killer’ jumbo captured in AP-TN officials’ joint ops

VELLORE: Forest officials successfully captured a ‘killer’ jumbo with the help of 2 kumkis at Ramapuram in Gudibala Mandal in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday. The lone elephant had killed three persons in the same area in AP on Wednesday and one person in Vellore district early on Thursday.

The Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh forest officials in a joint operation captured the elephant and decided to take it to Tirupati and handed it over to the zoo authorities.

The elephant first forayed into Ramapuram and destroyed crops. Villagers chased it away by bursting crackers. The jumbo turned on them and trampled three to death.

It then moved into the deeper parts of forest and entered Tamil Nadu near Katpadi, Ponnai and Magimandalam.

Tragedy struck when the elephant entered Periabodinatham village near Magimandalam. After destroying some crops, it entered the goat pen and killed a goat. On hearing strange sounds, Vasanthi (55), wife of Balakrishnan (60), a local farmer, stepped out and on seeing the elephant tried to chase it away. The pachyderm in a fit of anger turned toward her and stamped her to death before leaving the spot. Vellore Collector Kumarvel Pandian announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of Vasanthi and Vellore DFO Kalanidhi handed over the first instalment of Rs 50,000 to them on Thursday.

Before the capture, the forest officials scanned the jungle adjoining Magimandalam in a bid to tranquilize the elephant, the DFO said, adding, “However, the operations were hampered by heavy rain in the area.”

Sources said that the same elephant, a day earlier, had strayed near Gudiyattam damaging standing paddy, groundnut and mango crops, besides trampling a tractor.