Neeleswaram/ Kasaragod: Chaos gripped Neeleswaram town on Sunday morning as a buffalo broke free and ran amok, keeping residents on edge for nearly four hours.

Local WhatsApp groups buzzed with alerts early in the day, as ward councillor Shajeer issued a warning about the rogue animal. The message urged residents to stay indoors and exercise extreme caution.

The buffalo, owned by Mandampurathu Shafeekh, had been brought from Pilathara on Saturday evening. As it was late, Shafeekh decided to keep the animal at his residence in Mandampuram instead of transporting it to his farm in Karinthalam.

Trouble began the next morning when the buffalo was being loaded onto a vehicle for transport. It broke loose and charged through the National Highway and surrounding bylanes, creating panic in areas like Karuvachery, SS Kalamandiram Road, Ramaram, THattacherry, Karutha Gate and Pallikkara.

Parents kept their children indoors, and residents stepped out only when absolutely necessary. From early morning, Shafeekh and several others attempted to track and restrain the animal, but the buffalo proved elusive.

The episode finally ended with a daring capture near St Anne’s School in Pallikkara, where the animal was cornered in the premises of a house and safely tied down.