Elephant rescued after 8-hour ordeal

Mumbai, April 5 Ramkali, a 35-year-old elephant, was rescued on Saturday by the villagers and the police eight hours after it got stuck in the mud in marshes along a canal in Shahbad village, 14 km from Alibaug. A crane was used to pull the elephant out.

“On Friday, Ramkali, along with two other elephants, was brought for the wedding reception of Nrupal Patil, son of Alibaug MLA and Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) president Jayant Patil,” said Raigad Superintendent of Police Pratap Dighavkar.

Patil could not be reached for comment.

According to the Poinad police, around 12.30 pm on Saturday, the three elephants, while on their way back to Mumbai, got scared of the honking from a truck and ran into the marshes and got stuck. Two elephants rescued themselves, but Ramkali, the oldest, couldn’t get out.

Lawyer Nandkumar Rajurkar is the guardian of the elephant. “I have no idea how the elephants were taken for the wedding reception,” he said.