BSP ‘mascot’ on a rampage in Bihar ~ literally

Source The Statesman:

Manoj Chaurasia
Patna, Jan 29: Miss Mayawati's election symbol ~ the elephant ~ has wreaked havoc in Bihar. An elephant went on rampage in a district town of Bihar today, forcing its entry inside the Circuit House in Chapra and uprooting many trees. A panicky district administration sought help from the forest department teams in Patna to bring the elephant under control. Chapra, incidentally, is the parliamentary constituency of RJD chief Mr Lalu Prasad, railway minister in the UPA government at the centre.
According to reports, the elephant had been brought for the rally organised by the BSP in Chapra today but while passing through the streets, it suddenly began running amok on the main streets, terrorising passersby. According to sources, finding the situation going out of the control, the mahout directed the elephant inside the Circuit House, presuming it would be a safer place to bring it under control and prevent casualties.
Reports said once the elephant went inside, the mahout managed to chain the animal and get the gates of Circuit House locked. However, the angry elephant broke out of the chains and went on the rampage inside the official bungalow premise, uprooting about half a dozen trees.
Confirming the incident, the Chapra District Magistrate Mr Prabhat Kumar Sah said he had requested the forest department officials in Patna to rush send a team to bring the elephant under control. He said the elephant uprooted many old trees located inside the Circuit House but denied it caused any damage to the building. He said he had got all the gates of the Circuit House locked so that it could not come out of the building and create terror in the nearby localities. Reports said the police too have been deployed around the Circuit House to meet any eventuality.