Lucknow, Apr 12 (IANS): BJP MP Varun Gandhi has sought the release of the sarus crane from the Kanpur Zoo and said that it should be reunited with Mohd Arif, the man who had rescued and taken care of it for over a year.

The bird had been separated from Arif Khan and shifted to Kanpur Zoo by the forest department officials who had claimed that the endangered bird needs to live in natural environment.

Days after the sarus was shifted to Kanpur zoo, reports said that the bird was not eating food properly.

A video of Arif visiting the bird in Kanpur went viral on Tuesday where Arif is seen standing outside the bird's enclosure. The sarus, meanwhile, is seen jumping in excitement. The bird even spreads its wings and tries to find a way out.

Sharing the video on Twitter, Varun Gandhi said the bird should be given back to Arif.

"Their love is pure. This beautiful bird is meant to fly freely and not to live in a cage," he tweeted in Hindi.

"Give back the bird it's sky, freedom and friend," he said.

Earlier, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav had also met Arif after the bird was taken away from him. He had said that UP forest department action shows that BJP finds happiness by giving sorrow to others.

"The BJP people do not love the environment of love, whether it is love between man and man or between man and bird. Those who find their happiness by giving sorrow to others can never be happy," Akhilesh Yadav had said.

It may be recalled that Arif had rescued the endangered bird and nursed it back to health. Videos of the saras crane following Arif everywhere and flying alongside his motorcycle had been widely shared on social media and the bond between man and bird had become a head turner with passers by clicking videos and photos of the two.