Tirupati, January 01: An elephant ran amok at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara near here today, creating panic for a while.
The six-year old temple elephant Avanija panicked after a stray dog came close to her, temple sources said.
Devotees, who had thronged the temple on New Year’s Day, ran helter-skelter. In the melee, two persons received minor injuries, the sources said, adding they were treated as out-patients at a local hospital.
Soon the elephant’s mahout managed to bring it under control, they said.
The incident occurred when poojas were being conducted to the procession idols in front of the shrine.
In a similar incident, four pilgrims were injured when a baby elephant of the shrine ran amok after hearing the sound of the temple bell in September last during the annual Brahmotsavam festival.
–Agencies