Two wild elephants trampled one person to death and created havoc in the southern Indian city of Mysore Wednesday.
The two young male elephants entered the Bamboo Bazar area. One got into a women's college compound, the other moved around a residential area and market where it attacked a cow, IANS news agency reported.
Renuka Prasad, 55, a resident of Bamboo Bazar, was trampled by one of the elephants when he came out of his house on hearing the commotion, said SA Ramdas, Karnata state's higher education minister. The man was declared dead on arrival at a local hospital, he said, DPA reported.
The elephants had entered Mysore from the T Narsipur forest range about 35 kilometres from the city, forest officials said.
Forest guards and officials from Mysore Zoo managed to tranquilize the elephants after three hours. The animals would be transported back to the forest in the evening, Ramdas said.
Schools and colleges in the area have been closed for the day as a precautionary measure.
Mysore lies about 140 kilometres south-west of state capital Bangalore. There are several forests near the city.
Shrinking forest habitat due to expansion of farmland and people and vehicles travelling through forests were forcing elephants to enter villages and towns in search of food, a forest official was quoted as saying.
India has a population of 25,000 to 20,000 wild elephants. An elephant task force set up by the federal government recommended in 2010 that wild elephants be given protection similar to that of tigers.