: A wild elephant, which has been troubling people and destroying crops in seven villages in and around Periya Thadagam on the outskirts of the city for the last seven months, was captured Friday, forest officials said.

Based on a complaint from the villagers, particularly farmers, four tamed elephants (kumkis) were used to capture the rogue elephant, the officials said.

The elephant, nicknamed Chinnathambi by some villagers, along with another named Vinayakar, has been a menace, they said.

In an operation a month ago, Vinayakar was caught, radio-collared and released in Mudumalai forest, while Chinnathambi was elusive and continued to roam around human habitats until now.

This morning, Chinnathambi was administered four darts of sedatives and prodded by two of the kumkis onto a lorry, the officials said

During the six-hour-long operation, the tusks of the wild elephant got chipped off, they said.

Then, it was radio-collared and taken by road to the Varagaliyar forest near Pollachi in the district for the release, the officials said.

Though majority of the residents and farmers heaved a sigh of relief, the rest were against the animal being captured and taken to the jungle, they said.

Nearly 40 forest department personnel, including veterinarians, were involved in the operation. A large number of locals, environmentalists and scientists were at the spot.

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