The raid, on February 27, came after a guest at the Anurag Farmhouse party tipped off, by phone, Faheem and Bharat of the Gujarat Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The police team that went to the spot confiscated the animal and registered a case under Section 22 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 the next day. Interrogation of party host and the cub supplier -- Apollo Circus -- followed.

Incredibly, the police moved court two months later and said there was no exhibition of the cub at the party and thus no cruelty to the animal. It has now obtained permission of the chief judicial magistrate to shut the February 27 case, though it's yet to ``officially'' collect the order.

Reacting to the police move, Snehal Bhatt of the GSPCA said this was a blow to the cause of animal rights. ``But this is not the first time, they have closed various other cases pertaining to exhibition of wildlife animals in the past. This only exposes the ignorance of the guardians of the law about wildlife legislation'', she said.

Meanwhile, Dr R M Patel, deputy conservator of Forest (wildlife), Vadodara, said their investigation in the same case under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 was in progress. The cub is in the custody of the Forest Department at Indroda Park, Gandhinagar.

In another development, circus manager V C Shanku told Express Newsline from Bharuch that his team which had gone to Gandhinagar with a court order to get the cub back returned empty-handed. ``We were told the officer authorised to give the transit pass to transfer a schedule-I animal (endangered species) was not available on that day.We will again try to get it in a day or two, but if we are harassed by forest officials, we will sue them for contempt of court'', he added.