Police horse attacked by BJP, dies after a month struggle

If I’m found guilty, then cut my leg, says BJP lawmaker, who was accused in evoking the violence during the protest

An Indian police horse named Shaktiman, who had lost its leg in an attack during the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protest in northern Uttarakhand state, died on Wednesday after struggling for over a month.

Shaktiman was seen on television screens being hauled and dragged on roads during the protest which took place on March 14, 2016 – emotionally moving legions across the country.

The nine-year-old horse who had been given a prosthetic leg did not respond to it, according to doctors, as it spent past few weeks at police lines in Dehradun where policemen took extreme care of it.



"I am very sad. I was not at fault ... if I am found guilty, then cut my leg," said BJP lawmaker Ganesh Joshi, who was accused in evoking the violence during the protest.

Criticising him yet again after the horse’s death, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi said of Ganesh, “Shaktiman was a police officer on duty and the person who put him through so much pain and ultimately killed him should be arrested for killing a police officer."

Chief Minister Harish Rawat had said that he would ensure every effort is put in to take care of the horse health and punish who had attacked it.



"I am shocked...we all thought Shaktiman was recovering well," Rawat said.

Many believed that Shaktiman should have been euthanised so that he could have escaped the pain he went through while struggling for its life.

The police horse had been taking part in parades since it was just a three-year-old colt but is no more.

The article originally appeared on NDTV.