Jumbo Ride Turns Into 4-Hour Nightmare for Young Girls as Elephant Goes on Rampage at Dussehra Procession

An elephant ride during a Dussehra procession turned out to be a traumatizing experience for the residents of Ekma tehsil in Bihar’s Saran district when the jumbo suddenly went out of control and embarked on a rampage, killing a villager and injuring two police officers besides damaging property worth lakhs.

The four-hour-long rampage was particularly life-threatening for the mahout, two young girls and a villager who were riding the elephant when it went out of control.

The incident unfolded on October 12 on the Chhapra-Siwan road (NH-531) as crowds gathered for the Vijaya Dashami Mahaviri Akhara procession. As the procession neared the Ekma High School, the elephant went out of control, trampling anything in sight to the horror of onlookers as well as the mahout and those on the elephant ride. In an attempt to save themselves, the girls riding the elephant clung tightly to the rope tied to the elephant’s body for four hours till they were saved.

The elephant damaged two cars, a bus, an e-rickshaw and two bikes. During the attempt to control the elephant, two police officers were injured and a villager who was seriously hurt succumbed to his injuries later. The injured policemen were identified as the head of Ekma police station Uday Kumar and CO Rahul Shankar.

The mahout eventually managed to guide the elephant into a forest through the Gandak canal. It was then that Tarakeshwar Yadav (40), a resident of Bhuili village who was grazing buffaloes, was thrown by the elephant, causing his death.

Late on Sunday, the elephant was tied to a tree after it reached Dayalpur Village. The elephant is believed to belong to Praveen Singh, a resident of Amroli Sarsar village in Siwan district. It was brought by the akhara organising committee of Bhuili village to enhance the spectacle of the procession.

Notably, this elephant had previously lost control on December 9, 2021, resulting in the death of a mahout.

Following the latest incident, the local administration and the forest department issued instructions to enhance caution to prevent similar events in the future.