Haripad (Alappuzha): Muraleedharan Nair, 53, the first mahout of Mavelikkara Kandiyoor Temple, died following an elephant attack. He passed away at 11 pm on Sunday while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Parumala. The incident involved Skandan, an elephant from the Haripad Sree Subrahmanya Swamy Temple.

The elephant’s second mahout, Sunilkumar (Manikandan), 40, from Karunagappally, remains critically injured and is receiving treatment. Muraleedharan was stabbed with tusks while attempting to restrain the elephant after it trampled Sunil Kumar. Another mahout, Pradeep, from Mynagappally, sustained minor injuries.

The attack occurred on Sunday afternoon. The elephant, which had been restrained since March following musth, was released on Sunday. Initially, it was taken to visit the temple, then moved to the Thantri family’s Padinjare Pullamvazhi for taming. There, the elephant knocked down Pradeep and dragged Sunil Kumar, who had been riding it for about an hour, before throwing and kicking him.

Nearby mahouts arrived to help and attempted to guide the elephant safely to its enclosure. The elephant was eventually led from the Pullamvazhi enclosure to the palace elephant enclosure under heavy security. During this process, Muraleedharan mounted the elephant while others tried to control it with ropes. At the northern gate of the palace, the elephant dragged Muraleedharan with its trunk, knocked him down, and inflicted fatal injuries. Other mahouts joined the fray before the Devaswom veterinary doctor sedated the animal, allowing it to be finally secured in the palace compound.

The veterinary doctor had recommended releasing the elephant a month earlier, after the mating season ended, but complaints said that the elephant was not released after the order. The release on Sunday coincided with preparations for the Haripad temple’s Avani festival and the Thiruvonam Aarattu procession.

Sunilkumar is currently undergoing surgery and treatment at a private hospital in Thiruvalla.