Kerala HC declines to intervene on tusker ban ahead of Thrissur Pooram

The court said the Thrissur district collector will have the final decision on the matter. The court was hearing a petition by the elephant’s owners, the Thechikotukavu temple administration, which sought the tusker’s release for Thrissur Pooram.

Ramachandran, regardless of his violent side, is the state’s tallest elephant and considered extremely popular among delirious pachyderm fans in the state.

For the past few years, Ramachandran headlines the eve of the Pooram by bursting through the southern door of the Vadakumnathan temple and signalling the start of the celebration.

Explained | Thrissur Pooram, understanding Kerala’s largest temple festival

A ban on Ramachandran, a partially-blind 54-year-old tusker, was placed by the Chief Wildlife Warden after he killed two people at a housewarming ceremony in Guruvayur in February this year. Unofficial records state as many as 13 people have died at the feet of the elephant so far. Ramachandran, regardless of his violent side, is the state’s tallest elephant and considered extremely popular among delirious pachyderm fans in the state.