This is the shocking moment an angry mob refused to let an animal welfare charity rescue a injured performing elephant who had been abused . Indian elephant Mohan is kept shackled with heavy chains around his legs and is often left malnourished and injured , with his owners forcing him to beg on the streets . It prompted charity Wildlife SOS to launch a rescue operation to save Mohan and give him much needed treatment . Scroll down for video . A mob of 300 people surround Mohan as animal welfare charity Wildlife SOS attempt to rescue the abused elephant . The charity were forced to call in the police to help out with the operation , which was eventually aborted on safety grounds . But when the 55-strong team descended on the town of Lalganj in northern India to give treatment to the animal , a mob of 300 people surrounded them to stall the operation . Wildlife SOS were then forced to call the police as the mob became violent with over 40 officers drafted in to try to calm the situation . But with fears for the safety of the rescue team , a local magistrate ordered the operation to be aborted and the charity had to leave the elephant behind . Now the elephant 's owner , Bhupendar Mishra has been accused of sending the crowd to stop the seizure of the animal . Mohan is kept shackled by his owners and is often forced to beg and perform for food and money . The elephant is also kept with heavy chains around his legs , and according to the charity is often malnourished and injured . Deputy Conservator of Forests , Y.P Shukla said : 'Mr Bhupendar Mishra has illegal custody of the elephant and is trying to manipulate and mislead the crowd . He is being supported by his two brothers . 'He is trying to stall the rescue of the elephant by filing revisions and misleading the courts although he has already lost the court battle . ' Mohan , who is aged 56 , was stole from his wild herd more than 50 years ago and has been used as a begging and performing elephant ever since . Mohan is paraded through the streets at night with leaves and branches tied to his back and is forced to beg . Mohan was stolen from his wild herd more than 50 years ago and has been exploit in several different Indian towns . After he was bought , he was chained for several years to be trained before being exploited in several Indian towns , where he has been subjected to abuse and forced to work long hours . Co-ordinator of Wildlife SOS Baiji Raj said : 'We will leave no stone unturned to rescue Mohan and are hopeful that we can successfully rescue him . The charity has now set up an appeal on their website to help fund the elephant 's rescue .
Indian elephant Mohan is kept in chains and is forced to beg and perform . Animal charity Wildlife SOS launched an operation to rescue the animal . But when they arrived a 300-strong mob surrounded the rescue team . Police were then called and the charity were forced to abort their mission . Mohan remains shackled until the charity can attempt another rescue .