Two injured after three elephants run amok in Jagannath rath yatra in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: At least two people are reported to have sustained injuries after three elephants, who were leading the Lord Jagannath procession in Ahmedabad, ran amok through the crowd.

There were several caparisoned elephants who were brought for the annual ceremony of leading the procession of the chariot of Lord Jagannath.

Police sources said that at least three elephants lost their control and started running amok through the crowd, triggering panic and chaos. Police said that two people were injured who were taken to the hospital who are out of danger.

"The mahouts somehow managed to control the elephants with the help of police and were escorted back to their shelter. They have been removed from the ceremony," a police source said.

The rath yatra is guarded by an AI-based crowd monitoring system, 3,500 CCTV cameras, 2,872 body-worn cameras, 25 watchtowers and 240 terrace points along the 16 km route. A total of 23,884 security personnel have been deployed.

Over the past decade, the annual religious gathering is said to have become the biggest public event managed by the police and the government in Gujarat.