Pawan Pande and his family claimed they had looked after Laxmi for over 50 years

An elephant allegedly used to beg in the past in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, died in the wee hours of Thursday. mid-day had done a story (Elephant found begging at Dahisar; forest officials say they can't find it!) in August 2016, about one such elephant, which might have been this one. It was allegedly being forced to beg on the streets, though this is banned in the city. The Forest Department had issued a circular in 2013 telling citizens there is a ban on such exploitation of elephants within city limits.