A 55-year-old elephant, which was held captive by a man and was in a pitiable condition, was rescued by forest officials along with a civil society group following court order.
The action came following a Pratapgarh district court order last week directing police to rescue Mohan within three days and file a complaint against the defaulters.
The district administration along with the support of Wildlife SOS rescued the pachyderm on July 22.
"The animal was held captive by one Ghulam since decades. It is in a very pitiful condition. It was beaten up mercilessly by the accused and kept starving as a result of which its condition is very poor," Y P Shukla, Pratapgarh's Divisional Director (social forestry), said.
Ghulam has been arrested, he said.
The NGO is trying to rehabilitate Mohan in the elephant conservation and rehabilitation centre in Churmura district of Mathura.
"The elephant has been rescued after a long struggle. As there is lack of proper facilities for Mohan at the Pratapgarh government hospital and no specialists to suggest about his rehabilitation, the NGO wants to take up this responsibility. We are trying to rehabilitate the animal here," Suvidha Bhatnagar of Wildlife SOS said.
