NEW DELHI, June 29: A donkey used in a public protest by rights activists against the government of India’s southern Tamil Nadu state has been produced in court as evidence, a report said on Thursday.

The activists had hung a sign reading ‘district administration’ around the donkey’s neck during their protest Monday in the town of Kanchipuram, west of the state capital Chennai, the Times of India newspaper reported.

The activists from the non-governmental organisation Makkal Mandram had been protesting delays by the state revenue department in issuing land certificates to members of the Irula, or snake-catching, tribe, the report said.

Police arrested 30 protesters and confiscated items such as mats, loudspeakers, amplifier sets and the donkey, which they said would be used as evidence.

The magistrate hearing the case ordered the donkey be produced in the courtroom, leaving court orderlies the difficult task of herding in the animal.—AFP