Bengaluru: An elderly man who was on his morning walk on Mysuru Road was suspected to have been trampled to death by a wild elephant in the early hours of today.

The deceased has been identified as Nagaraj (60), a resident of Anchepalya on Mysuru Road.

After leaving his house at about 5 am today, Nagaraj was taking a walk behind RR Medical College near Kengeri, when a wild elephant suddenly attacked him from behind. Though he tried to escape, he was unable to do so and was seriously injured by the elephant.

Passersby, who noticed Nagaraj in a serious condition, immediately took him to Rajarajeshwari Hospital. But Nagaraj, who had reportedly sustained injuries to his ribs succumbed at the hospital.

As the news spread, the Forest Department and the Police personnel rushed to the spot and conducted an investigation. Two compounds have also been damaged.

CCTV footage from the nearby Vaarahi Apartments showed the wild elephant on Malhar Avenue Road at about 5.11 am.

Kaggalipura Range Forest Officer N.R. Kamble said that the exact cause of death will be known only after receiving the post-mortem report and suspected that the wild elephant may have strayed from Bannerghatta Wildlife Sanctuary.

Wild elephant had caused terror at Mysuru in 2011

It may be recalled that in the early morning on June 8, 2011, two elephants charged through the streets of Mysuru and damaged cars.

Several people were injured in the panic and one man, a security guard at an ATM, was killed by an elephant and the jumbo then gored a cow to death. The elephants had got separated from a herd that had strayed out of T. Narasipur forests.

It took more than five hours for experts to be able to get close enough to one of the elephants — aged between 8 and 10 — to tranquillise him.

On June 7, 2011, four elephants were separated from their herd after villagers chased them away from their fields nearby. Two elephants retreated towards the forests in the area, but the other two wandered into the city and were separated from each other near Bamboo Bazaar. The rampage began at around 5.15 am on June 8 near Bamboo Bazaar. The elephants had travelled nearly 35 kilometres before entering the city.