MUMBAI, Aug. 2 -- Ownership claim of an arthritic elephant, Mahadevi (also called Madhuri), an original inhabitant of a Jain shrine in Nandani in Shirol taluka, Kolhapur district, who is presently in the care of Vantara, an animal rescue, rehabilitation and conservation initiative by the Reliance Foundation, in Jamnagar, has accelerated into a public outcry. Backed by politicians, a fresh appeal will be made at the Supreme Court (SC) for Mahadevi's return. Since Thursday night, thousands have boycotted the Reliance Group's JIO mobile service and a signature campaign has been initiated led by Congress MLC Satej Patil, for Mahadevi's return. In response to his call for the signature campaign, till Friday evening, over 2.04 lakh people had signed an appeal to the President of India to intervene in the matter. As the backlash spread from Shirol to Kolhapur city, on Friday, former MP Raju Shetti announced a 45-kilometer protest march from the shrine to Kolhapur city, on Sunday. Under the slogan of 'One day for Madhuri' he urged people to join the march. Such was the on-ground zeal that Vantara's chief executive officer (CEO) Vivaan Karani met guardian minister Prakash Abitkar on Friday, following which the latter announced that the state government will move SC to bring Mahadevi back to the Jain shrine, with Vantara's cooperation. Mahadevi, 36, was transferred from her primary home Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswamy Sanstha, a Jain shrine in Nandani, to Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust (RKTEWT), an initiative of the Vantara project, following a Bombay high court (HC) order on July 16. The court had ordered the transfer of the physically frail pachyderm after hearing a petition by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which had underlined its poor health and argued that she was not getting proper care at the temple. Following the HC order, the Sanstha moved SC, which upheld the HC order on July 22. Mahadevi was given a tearful farewell from the temple and shifted to Vantara on July 28. On Friday, Karani and his team met the chief of shrine, Jinsen Bhattarak at the district collector's office in Kolhapur in the presence of guardian minister Prakash Abitkar, MPs Dhairyasheel Mane (Shiv Sena) and Dhananjay Mahadik (BJP), and district collector Amol Yedge, among others. People in the know of the matter told HT that in the course of the meeting, it was decided that the government (on behalf of the shrine) would approach the apex court a second time to shift Mahadevi back to Nandani. Should the judgment be in the temple's favour, Karani offered to set up a Vantara unit there to look after the animal. Confirming the course of action in the meeting, Abitkar said, "Two MPs, Dhairyasheel Mane and Dhananjay Mahadik, have approached union forest minister Bhupendra Yadav to discuss the matter. We will ensure that the ministry submits an affidavit in the SC. Vantara has assured its cooperation. After due legal process, the elephant will return to Nandani." The Jain shrine is over 1,300 years old and has followers from over 740 villages in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Elephants have been a part of religious practices for centuries. Mahadevi has been a resident of the temple since 1992. HT reached out to Vantara's communication team but failed to get a response....