In a surprising twist, the Maharashtra Forest Department has stirred attention by confiscating a golden jackal from a settlement of migrant sugarcane workers in Islampur, Sangli. On Friday, the vice president of the NGO, Nature Conservation Society (NECONS), Dr Harshad Divekar received a call from a woman on his mobile from Gotkhindi village in Sangli district giving a tip-off that some people had tied a jackal at a settlement of sugarcane cutters.

The caller, who did not wish to be named, also informed Divekar that the people in the settlement were dragging the animal around with a rope.  The woman said she tried hard to call the helpline number of the forest department but was unable to contact them.