The Daily Mail has the scoop on a midnight raid:

[A] 10-strong team of vets and wildlife experts from the charity were joined by 20 forestry department officers and six policemen to seize Raju from his suffering in the Uttar Pradesh area of India.

The mission took place under the cover of darkness, as fewer people would be around for the dangerous rescue and the animal could be protected from the searing heat of the sun.

Raju is an elephant that was kept in chains as a tourist begging prop for a whopping fifty years. Elephants, its worth noting, are among the more intelligent and empathetic of animal species. According to the article, the elephant cried upon release.

Anyway, the article has lots of pictures.