Uttarakhand police horse Shaktiman's leg amputated; BJP worker arrested

Dehradun: Army doctors on Thursday amputated the hind leg of Uttarakhand police horse Shaktiman to save its life.

The horse's amputation surgery is taking place two days after its fractures were fixed by external fixation by a group of 10 doctors - six from Pantnagar and four district veterinary officers.

The surgery was conducted after the doctors said that "the horse wouldn't be able to survive due to gangrene (decomposition of body tissue)," said Uttarakhand DGP BS Sandhu.

"The doctors diagnosed that the blood supply to injured portion had stopped because of which the injured leg needed to be amputated," he added.

A team of doctors from Pune had examined Shaktiman earlier today and opined that its fractured hind leg would have to be amputated to save its life.

A BJP worker was, meanwhile, arrested in connection with the attack on the equine during a protest by the party here.

Three days after the attack that sparked outrage, the worker identified as Pramod Bora was arrested from Haldwani in Nainital district for forcefully pulling the bridle of the horse and causing its fall at the protest venue on March 14 and leaving it injured, Dehradun SSP Sadanand Daate told PTI.

Bora was arrested from Mukhani area of Haldwani on a requisition by Dehradun police, Nainital SSP Sweety Agarwal said, adding he has been handed over to a police team from Dehradun and is being taken to the state capital.

On reports that summons were issued to BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi by him in connection with the attack, Uttarakhand DGP BS Sidhu said only the Investigating Officer is competent to issue summons. When queried, Investigating Officer Arun Pandey neither denied nor confirmed issuing summons to the legislator, saying investigations are still on.

The horse in fact fell with its entire weight on its hind quarters under the combined impact of Joshi`s frontal attack with a lathi and Bora pulling up its reins from one side, Daate said.

'Shaktiman', a well-trained horse which was part of Uttarakhand Mounted Police for years, was allegedly attacked by Joshi, an MLA from Mussoorie, during the march. The animal suffered fractures in one of his hind legs during the protest.

An FIR had been lodged at Nehru Colony police station against Joshi and his associates.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat also expressed concern over the horse's condition.

"We are worried about the horse as it is still in pain and cannot stand on its feet. However, it is being looked after properly. Let people decide who is wrong," he said.

The BJP has been demanding withdrawal of the cases lodged against its workers including Joshi with the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajay Bhatt asserting that they were being framed at the behest of the state government to cow down the opposition.

However, the Chief Minister has refused to withdraw the cases, saying he does not believe in interfering in police investigations which should be carried out independently.

(With Agency inputs)