Madhya Pradesh: Vanishing jumbo' has magician in trouble

Bhopal: Renowned illusionist Jadugar Anand, who is currently performing in Indore, has landed in trouble for his magic show in which he makes an elephant disappear.

An organisation fighting for animals rights has moved the Indore circuit bench of Madhya Pradesh high court seeking legal action against the magician for using elephant in his show in violation of relevant provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act.

“We have moved the Indore bench of the high court seeking a directive to the magician to release the elephant in the show in the wild,” Priyansu Jain, member of People for Animal who filed the petition in the court, told this newspaper on Wednesday. “We have  also sought action against him as use of the pachyderm in the magic show amounted to cruelty against the wild animal and is banned by the law.” She said animal rights activists also noticed wounds in the body of the elephant following its use in the show.”

The court set May 24 as the date for hearing in the case, according to her.

Ms Jain said members of her organisation took local officials of the state forest department to the magic show pleading them to seize the elephant and release it in the wild.

“But the magician produced the documents showing that he has obtained permission from the Indore district collector for the show. Following this, the forest officials refused to act on the matter,” she said explaining the reason behind the move by her to file a petition in the court to set the elephant free.