LEGAL BATTLE TO PREVENT RAJU THE ELEPHANT TO BE SENT BACK INTO SLAVERY - Raju cried tears of relief when liberated. Now he lives in an elephant sanctuary with other rescued elephants

UPDATE  December 2, 2014-
Raju won the court battle.  Raju is free!
Read details:
http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2014/12/raju-is-free-raju-enslaved-elephant-who.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

August 31 report:

Raju the crying elephant faces life back in chains after cruel former owners launch legal battle to win him back

The creature captured the hearts of people from around the world when he cried as he was freed from chains after 50 years

Now his former owners, who used him to beg, are trying to get him back

Raju's fate will be decided at a court hearing in Allahabad, on September 4

Charity Wildlife SOS founder Kartick Satyanarayan, who led the rescue operation to save Raju, said: 'We are devastated that after all he’s been though we are still having to fight for Raju’s freedom. His owner is arguing that Raju is his property, which must be returned to him for his use.

 

'We are hoping the courts will see sense that this can never happen as Raju was treated with such appalling cruelty and torture in his hands in the first place and the man claiming ownership of Raju has no legal grounds to claim him back under Indian law.

 

Read more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2739152/Raju-crying-elephant-faces-life-chains-cruel-former-owners-launch-legal-battle-win-back.html

 

More on Raju on this blog

 

http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2014/07/raju-enslaved-elephant-who-was-kept-in.html

 

http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2014/07/the-moment-raju-elephant-rescued-from.html

 

http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2014/08/raju-indian-elephant-who-cried-after.html

 

******************************************************************************