Chittoor: Three devotees killed, four injured in elephant attack at temple in Gundlakuna
Three devotees were killed and four others sustained injuries after they were attacked by a herd of elephants in Chittoor
By Newsmeter Network
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Chittoor: Three devotees were killed and two others sustained injuries after they were attacked by a herd of elephants at a temple near Gundlakuna, Obulavaripalle Mandal in Annamayya District on Tuesday.
The three deceased were identified as V Dinesh (34), T Manemma (40) and Tirupati Chengalrayudu (35). All the deceased were natives of Railway Koduru mandal.
The incident happened when the devotees were on their way to worship Lord Shiva at a temple on the occasion of Mahashivaratri.
Upon receiving information about the incident, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan and Forest Minister Pawan Kalyan directed the forest department officials to submit a detailed report about the tragedy.
He also directed Railway Koduru MLA Sridhar to visit the spot and extend all necessary support to the deceased families and injured persons.
"A group of 30 devotees who set off for Talakona temple were attacked by a group of elephants around 2:30 am on Tuesday, leading to the death of three devotees and injuries to three more inside the forest," the police said.
Out of the three injured persons, one was seriously injured while the remaining two are out of danger, the official added.
According to police, the forest falls under Obulavaripalle mandal's Y Kota area and it is believed that up to 15 elephants were part of the herd that attacked the devotees.
Police retrieved the bodies of the deceased devotees while the devotees who managed to escape the attack were sent back home.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed his grief over the incident. Pawan Kalyan announced an exgratia of Rs 10 lakh of the families of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh to the injured persons.
