Dehradun: Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) MLA from Mussoorie Ganesh Joshi was caught on camera mercilessly beating a police horse, reportedly breaking its legs during a protest against Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Monday for "misuse" of funds.
Soon, some party workers joined Joshi and allegedly started thrashing the horse.
BJP workers allegedly thrashed a the horse. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)
"The horse injured by BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi was taken to the Indian Military Academy's Veterinary Hospital. Doctors are saying that the horse's leg will have to be amputated," Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Sadanand Date said.
He said police would book MLA Joshi in connection with the incident.
Justifying his act, Joshi said, "We snatched sticks from policemen, as they were beating people mercilessly. They used the horse over the protesters, and the horse got hurt during the clash. It is not wrong."
Doctors said the horse's leg will have to be amputated. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)
"We did not beat the horse, it collapsed because it had not been given water and food throughout the day," claimed Joshi.
Reacting to the incident, BJP MLA from Haridwar Madan Kaushik said, "The way policemen attacked the people who were protesting is condemnable. They used water cannons and horses over defenceless people. This government is ruthless."
Condemning the incident, Chief Minister Rawat said, "Be it horse or any other animal, they should not be dragged in such incidents. How can you use lathi on a horse? I think the word tolerance doesn't exist in the BJP's dictionary."
