A temple elephant brought for an house warming function ran amok, killing two elderly people near Guruvayur in Kerala on Friday, police said.
"Thechikottukavu Ramachandran", the tallest elephant in the state, was standing at the congested compound of the new house overflowing with people, when the animal ran out.
Following the confusion, people ran in panic and two of them were trampled near the house, police said.
The house owner was said to be a member of the manging committee of a temple nearby, where the elephant had been brought for a festival later on Friday.
The elephant was brought to his house for the house warming ceremony.
A case under Indian Penal Code sections -- 304(A) (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by endangering the life or personal safety of others) and 289 (negligent conduct with respect to animals) had been registered against the mahout of the elephant, police said.
The people who were killed were identified as Babu, 66 and Gangadharan, 60.
Nine others suffered minor bruises and their statements have been recorded, police said.
Red Alert Issued For Kerala's Wayanad Amid Heavy Rain Forecast Video: Foreigner Claims She Was Denied Entry Into Kerala Temple, Congress' Karti Chidambaram Reacts Freedom Of Press May Not Include Sting Operations In All Cases: Kerala High Court Bangladesh Imposes Curfew, Deploys Military As 105 Die In Protests "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Over 300 Indian Students Return Home As 105 Bangladeshis Killed In Protests Joe Biden Is The Best Person To Take On Trump, Says His Campaign Wife Among Two Jailed For Life For Man's Murder In Gurugram: Cops 1,100 Flights Cancelled In US As Microsoft Outage Disrupts Operations Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.