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Man walks up, stands with folded hands in front of elephant by side of road in southern India

Man walks up, stands with folded hands in front of elephant by side of road in southern India
May 12, 2023
Surya Prakash by Surya Prakash

Location Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu, southern India. Date: 2023-05-11

A man, said to have been drunk, walked up to and folded his hands in front of an elephant by the side of a road in southern India’s Tamil Nadu.


This incident happened in Dharmapuri district of the state on May 11.

Visuals showed the elephant standing by the side of the road when the man walks up to it. He then gets near the pachyderm and folds his hands in front of it.

The elephant took a few steps back while the man, after a while standing and having his hands folded, walked away. He returned once again to the place where he stood in front of the elephant and now, stretched out his arms while facing away from the animal. The pachyderm appeared to get agitated and rush towards the man but it didn’t. The man then bowed down the elephant before making his way out of the area.

He was arrested by DFO of the Dharampuri district for violating forest rules.

A report stated that the man was identified as Murugesan from Pennakarat and he was arrested and fined Rs 10,000. The report also stated that a single male elephant had been walking along the road near Hogenakkal for a few days.

The video generated mixed reactions from Twitter users, with some praising police officials for arresting the man while others were left confused over why such a step was taken.

As per a report, elephants often wander or encamp by the side of this road and hence, the forest department has directed tourists to not get down their vehicles or park them in the area.

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