Uttarakhand BJP cries foul over Ganesh Joshi's arrest, takes on CM

Dehradun (Uttarakhand): Uttarakhand BJP president Ajay Bhatt on Friday hinted at a political conspiracy over the arrest of Mussoorie MLA Ganesh Joshi and alleged that the latter has been kidnapped.Mounting pressure on the administration, Bhatt warned of protests in the entire state if the MLA is not released at the earliest.

"We will meet the honourable Governor.We will give a befitting reply to the hooliganism taking place in the state under the leadership of Harish Rawat. We believe in democracy and we will do everything in a constitutional manner. But Harish Rawat, the Chief Minister, stands exposed today. They were in civil dress; we don`t know whether they were policemen or goons. Our MLA has been kidnapped," Bhatt told ANI here.

"We don`t know where he (Ganesh Joshi) is and we have asked the district administration to bring him before us at the earliest. And if there are any allegations against him then he must be produced before the court. We will jam the whole Uttarakhand and will not let anything run here if our leader is not released," he added.

Joshi was arrested earlier this morning by the Uttarakhand Police for allegedly assaulting Shaktiman, a horse part of the security force`s mounted-unit.Shaktiman`s left hind leg was amputated by veterinary doctors yesterday after it suffered multiple fractures during a BJP protest earlier this week.

The horse was allegedly beaten with sticks by Joshi and his associates.An initial assessment by doctors raised hopes that Shaktiman would not lose its leg. However, the worst was confirmed Thursday as it had to be amputated to stop gangrene from spreading to other parts of its body.