India, Sept. 12 -- Elephant Madhuri, popularly known as Mahadevi in Kolhapur, is expected to return to Kolhapur by 11.30 pm after spending more than a year in Vantara in Gujarat's Jamnagar run by Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust (RKTWET).

As the elephant passed through Pune, citizens showered flowers on the vehicle carrying her. In Kolhapur, hundreds of people have gathered near the Math to give Madhuri a grand welcome and celebrate her return.

In a two-page statement, Vantara said the high powered committee (HPC) on September 9 ordered Madhuri's return to the facility of the Swastishri Jinsen Bhattarak Pattacharya Mahaswami Sanstha Math at Nandani in Kolhapur.

The 15-member HPC is headed by retired Justice Deepak Verma and ...