It takes more than a man or just another machine to tame a bull. Ask Faizan Alam, a Purnea resident.

A stray bull damaged his car before he ensured something was done to end the bull menace. The animal had been terrorising residents for the past fortnight, injuring passersby and damaging vehicles. One look at the plight of residents here and one could not fault the west for conjuring up a fictional image of a town in India complete with stray cows on the streets.

Rajiv Kumar, a chartered accountant and a Purnea resident, said: “The bull had become a menace in the locality. I often took a different route in order to avoid the animal. It is high time the civic body took some concrete steps to rid the town of stray animals.”

After Faizan’s car was damaged by the bull, he informed the police on Tuesday. The police, in turn, informed the civic officials. “I lost my cool after seeing my damaged vehicle,” a shocked Alam said.

The station house officer of Khazanchi Haat police station, Ashok Kumar Mehta, said: “Since taming the stray animal is the responsibility of the civic body, we informed the Purnea Municipal Corporation when Alam reported the matter to us.”

The civic body employees captured the stray bull on Wednesday evening, restoring the confidence of the people to venture out on streets.

The bull was caught from Rang Bhavan grounds.

The animal catchers had a tough time taming the bull, as not in their wildest dreams had they thought their training would come to such use.

An earthmover and a truck had to be pressed into service to capture the animal. Later, the bull was released at a far-off place. Purnea mayor Kaniz Reza told The Telegraph: “It was risky to catch the bull but our workers risked their lives.” She admitted the civic body neither had the resources nor trained manpower to tackle the stray animal menace.