Officials of the Wildlife Wing of the Vadodara Circle of Social Forestry, who have lodged an offence under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, are likely to seize the vehicle used in transporting the cub from Apollo Circus, Surat, to Vadodara.

The State Chief Conservator of Forest G A Patel and his deputy Bharat Pathak who were in Vadodara on Thursday and had held detailed discussion with local officials about the issue, told Express Newsline that ``fair probe would be done in the case and no guilty would be spared'', but they added that ``it might take some time so as to ensure there are no lose ends in the investigation''. Other officials said since the circus did not have a transit pass to legally transport the animal, a strong case was being prepared against Ranjan Babu, the circus owner.

Pathak, meanwhile, added that from tomorrow onwards, a veterinary doctor would be regularly examining the animal lodged at the Forest Department nursery near Kamatibaug. He said, though it was keeping well, a check on its health was a must as if a very young animal is taken away from its mother, there is an adverse impact on its health.

He also maintained that from Friday, no inquisitive visitors would be allowed to see the animal and that extra personnel would be deployed at the nursery for the purpose. The decision followed reports about throngs of people flocking at the nursery for a look of the cub.

It may be recalled that the about three-month young cub was exhibited at Anurag Farmhouse, Sama Road, here, to entertain a high-society birthday party attended by a large number of prominent personalities of the city. This was in a gross violation various laws pertaining to wildlife and Schedule I animals. The farmhouse owner Anupam Zaveri and the Apollo circus owner Ranjan Babu were arrested under section 22 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 on Wednesday and were released on bail.