Bollywood actor and activist Celina Jaitley has filed a complaint at the Colaba police station in South Mumbai on Monday against Sunder the elephant’s mahout, Hyder, and MLA Vinay Kore alleging cruelty and abuse.
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) which has been >campaigning for Sunder’s release since 2012 , learnt that 14-year-old Sunder was found with a “massive wound… as a result of constant tying with heavy chains”, according to a health examination report filed by an expert last week. The report also states that Sunder should be moved from Kolhapur to an elephant-care centre in Bangalore “on an emergency basis”, a PETA press release said.
When long-time PETA Pal and UN Human Rights Equality Champion Celina Jaitley, learnt of Sunder’s condition, she filed the police complaint.
The letter, received by the police, alleged that Section 11(1)(a) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, and also Section 42 of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which states that owners must have adequate facilities for housing, maintenance and upkeep of animals, had been violated.
The Bombay High Court had directed the Forests department officials to relocate Sunder from Warananagar, in Kolhapur district, to a rehabilitation centre in the Bannerghatta national park in Karnataka before the onset of monsoon.
But Sunder is yet to be moved as the special team of mahouts and veterinary doctors who have been called in from Kerala to >assist the transfer are set to arrive only on May 31, as earlier reported in The Hindu .
In the letter submitted, the actor, who has been long involved with the #FreeSunder campaign, has requested the police to “file a Zero FIR against the people responsible for causing Sunder to suffer” as she is unable to travel to Kolhapur to file the same because of her film shooting schedule.
According to PETA, another complaint against Kore was filed on Monday by People for Animals' Naresh Kadyan in Delhi after he learned about Sunder's wound.
