Overview
- A 49-year-old autorickshaw driver named Vijay Holkar was grabbed, lifted and trampled by a parade elephant in Raj Nagar while feeding it jaggery during a religious procession on Saturday, and he died later that night in hospital.
- CCTV footage of the incident circulated on social media and police say the elephant wrapped its trunk around the victim, threw him to the ground and crushed his chest and abdomen causing fatal internal injuries.
- Police detained and have booked the mahout, identified as Umesh Goswami, on negligence charges after officers said he struck the elephant during the incident and witnesses reported the monk and associates who brought the animal left the scene.
- Indore Collector Shivam Verma on Tuesday directed the Divisional Forest Officer to use the Wildlife (Protection) Act to take action, to ensure preventive measures in urban areas and to submit an action-taken report.
- The case has prompted a probe into whether the elephant had required forest department permission and whether handlers followed safety protocols, raising questions about the risks of bringing captive elephants into densely populated processions and the human cost for the victim’s family.