Manki temple in the city claims the female elephant was gifted to it by a devotee, forest department says it is government property

KANPUR: A female elephant from Assam is caught in an ownership battle between the administration of the famous Manki temple here and the forest department.

While the temple claims Lakhi was presented to its head priest by a devotee, the forest department holds it is a government property.

Faraway from the controversy, the elephant is enjoying its stay at Kanpur Zoo.

Trouble began when someone registered a complaint against the temple administration that the tusker was not being looked after well and was injured.

“As soon as we came to know that the elephant was being ill-treated, we took its possession on March 16 and handed it over to Kanpur Zoo,” forest conservator BR Ahirwar said.

The temple administration appealed to the state government seeking the animal’s possession, but its plea was turned down. Thereafter, they filed a petition in the district court, which ordered the forest department on June 2 to return the elephant to the temple, lawyer SP Tripathi said.

“We submitted the court’s order to the forest department on June 4, but they refused to obey it,” he said.

“We then approached the court of the chief judicial magistrate, which also ruled in our favour,” Tripathi said.

After the magistrate’s order, the forest department registered a case against one Jitendra under the Wildlife Cruelty Act to “avoid parting with the elephant”, the lawyer said.

Religious outfits such as the Bajrang Dal have come forward to support the temple authorities.