Buffalo in India theft case produced for court hearing

The buffalo was brought to court for identification

A buffalo at the centre of a theft case attracted a lot of attention when it was produced at a court hearing in India's Rajasthan state.

Last August, breeder Heeralal Gurjar reported a stolen buffalo to the police in Kota city. Police later recovered the animal and arrested one suspect.

The judge ordered Mr Gurjar to produce the animal in court for identification.

It was tied to a tree outside the court and defence and prosecution lawyers went out to inspect the beast.

"I had taken my buffalo to the court as I was directed," said Mr Gurjar.

The defence lawyer, Meghraj Singh Shakawat, had asked for the animal to be brought to court "for identification to verify whether it was the same animal or not".

A huge crowd gathered to witness the novelty of lawyers inspecting the animal. Mr Gurjar's son said that the attention made the buffalo uneasy.

Mr Gurjar told the court that a calf stolen with his buffalo had not been found and was still in the possession of the accused.

According to Mr Gurjar's son, he walked the buffalo 5km (3 miles) to the court from his house in Kota.

The case will continue to be heard at the end of July.

The buffalo will not be required to appear again.