Shaktiman, the police horse who was injured during a BJP protest in Uttarakhand, died on Wednesday evening. The 13-year-old horse, whose leg had to be amputated after the injury, was given a prosthetic leg brought from the US but he did not respond to it, the doctors said.
Shaktiman had spent the past few weeks at the police lines in Dehradun, where a group of policemen and doctors looked after him. Sources said that the horse had almost stopped eating after the amputation and had become increasingly weak.
BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi, accused of instigating the brutal attack on the horse, was arrested and later released on bail. He was charged with cruelty and maiming an animal.
In visuals that horrified many across the country, the horse was seen taking multiple blows and dragging its broken, mangled hind limb. A fortnight ago, pictures of Shaktiman with the prosthetic leg were published in which the animal looked visibly pained and in discomfort.
Meanwhile, Union minister Maneka Gandhi sought the arrest of the person responsible for the death of Shaktiman’ and demanded the animal should no more be part of police forces.
