According to official information, if the animals were not treated properly with immediate effect, they would be confiscated by the official machinery.

Deputy director B R Thakkar, who examined the animals' health on Monday, certified on Tuesday that one lion (Rajju) was unhealthy, probably because of old age, while another, Raja, was limping, possibly because of some hidden injury.

Likewise, all the elephants seemed to be suffering due to the tight chaining of their legs and the lack of proper padding prior to chaining. Some of the horses, too, were very old, Thakkar said in his examination, stressing the need for large cages for the animals.

Additional Commissioner of Police M K Tandon and his deputy Mohan Jha told Express Newsline that the case was still being studied so that proper action could be taken against the circus managers.

Deputy Conservator of Forest (wildlife) G S Pandey has also instructed his officials to collect all the details about the health of the animals and take appropriate action in the context.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals activist Snehal Bhatt, who had lodged a complaint in this context with Navapura police, said in a statement that the circus managers had received similar complaints from the public as well as the official machinery in Mumbai as well.

In her complaint to the Navapura police, she had said the animals were not able to perform and collapsed when whipped repeatedly by the ringmaster. The Navapura police registered a case against the circus managers under Section 11 (1) of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, on Monday.

When contacted, circus manager Laxman Rao flatly refused to talk to Express Newsline on any issue pertaining the current controversy.