What you need to know:
- Elephant picks up man relieving himself in public
- Man received minor injuries but is out of danger.
- Vllagers have been warned about going close to the forest.
Dubai: Elephants are often referred to as ‘gentle giants’, however an elephant in the Purulia district of West Bengal, India, took grave objection to a farmer relieving himself in the open, and carried the man wrapped in his trunk for 50 meters.
According to a report by the Indian newspaper, The Times of India, the incident took place at 4am on Wednesday. The pachyderm eventually dropped the shocked man and disappeared into the forest.
The man has been identified as Niranjan Sahish, 55, who according to reports, was taken to a “primary health care centre after which he was taken to a hospital.”
Sahish received injuries to his leg and back, but is out of danger. He told officials that the elephant might have entered the village to look for food and panicked on seeing him.
He said he had heard the elephant approaching but the creature suddenly wrapped his trunk around him.
He said: “I thought I was going to die and kept praying to God. When the elephant dropped me to the ground, I could not believe my luck.”
On social media, tweeps were quick to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Swachh Bharat” (clean India) campaign and said that he needed to build more toilets in villages so that his campaign is effective. Others found the story “hilarious”.
Author Sharell Cook (@AboutIndia) tweeted the story with the caption: “Another reason to build and use toilets! In Bengal, elephant picks up man defecating in open …”
Tweep @Desi_rambler posted: “Happens in Odisha as well, especially around villages in Mayurbhanj district.”
In the report, Subinoy Panda of Balaram forest range said that awareness campaigns are held to educate people against reliving themselves in fields. They are also cautioned on staying away from the nearby forest.
