Baby slipping and falling from elephant’s trunk, mahout in custody, search for infant’s father

HARIPAD: The mahout has been taken into custody after visuals of a baby slipping and falling from the elephant’s trunk surfaced. Jithin Raj, the mahout of devaswom was taken into custody. A search has been intensified for Abhilash, the baby’s father. The Haripad police have registered a suo motu case.

The incident came to light after visuals emerged showing the six-month old baby being made to sit on the elephant’s trunk. The baby had a narrow escape while being placed on the trunk. The infant slipped and fell near the elephant's feet.

Abhilash of Kottiyam, the temporary mahout, gave his baby to be carried beneath Haripad Skandan, the elephant of the Haripad temple, who had killed his mahout three months ago. The incident happened last Sunday at the board’s elephant enclosure adjacent to the Haripad Temple.