Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal, along with PETA representatives, met Maharashtra State Forest Minister Dr Patangrao Kadam at his residence to hand-deliver a letter. The letter urged the minister to take immediate action in order to ensure that 14-year-old abused elephant Sunder to a sanctuary from a temple in Kolhapur.

Although both Minister Kadam and the High Court of Bombay have ordered that Sunder be transferred, he is still in the hands of his abusers. The case has been adjourned by one week.

Arjun has also extended an offer to the Jyotiba Temple in Kolhapur, where Sunder had been chained, to donate a life-size statue of an elephant in exchange for transferring Sunder to a sanctuary that PETA has identified.

"I am deeply saddened to learn", Rampal wrote, "that, despite your and the High Court of Bombay's orders, the young elephant named Sunder has not yet been moved to a sanctuary where he can live his life free from chains and beatings that he continues to suffer".


Joining Rampal in his call to #FreeSunder have been Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, R Madhavan, Raveena Tandon and many other top celebrities who took to Twitter or joined the campaign in other ways as well as more than 80,000 people who have signed the online petition on PETAIndia.com calling for Sunder's release.