A temple elephant was finally rescued after decades of suffering and one priest’s death. But locals now demand her return

Tens of thousands of people have joined protests in western India in the past week demanding the return of a temple elephant who was rescued and relocated to a sanctuary run by a powerful industrialist’s family.

Nearly 30,000 people in Maharashtra marched on 3 August calling for the return of Mahadevi, a 36-year-old female elephant also known as Madhuri who was recently relocated from a shrine in Kolhapur to Vantara.