DEHRADUN, Mar 18: BJP lawmaker Ganesh Joshi, accused of instigating a brutal attack on Shaktiman the police horse during a protest on Monday, which has left the animal crippled, was arrested today in Uttarakhand's Dehradun.
Mr Joshi has been charged with cruelty and maiming an animal. He has emphatically denied beating the horse and alleged that he is being targeted by the state's ruling Congress.
"It's kidnapping. He has been kidnapped because the police were not in uniform," charged BJP leader Jay Bhatt on the lawmaker's arrest from a hotel.
The horse lost its leg last night as doctors decided on an emergency amputation to save its life. A prosthetic from the US will help it walk again.
An equestrian orthopedic was brought in from Mumbai last night and an American prosthetics expert visiting Bhutan was also persuaded to fly to Dehradun. She was granted a visa on arrival.
In visuals that horrified many across the country, the 14-year-old horse was seen taking multiple blows and dragging its broken, mangled hind limb.
The BJP lawmaker is also in the visuals, holding a stick and poised to strike, but he is never seen hitting the horse.
A BJP worker seen dragging down the policeman riding Shaktiman and pulling at its saddle and reins, causing its fall, was arrested yesterday.
After the incident, the animal was operated upon by 10 doctors but could not stand on its own.
After amputation surgery, Shaktiman stood for the first time in three days, on a prosthetic limb.
Ganesh Joshi had visited the horse on Thursday. He said: "I came here out of humanity...I didn't hit the horse but an innocent animal has suffered."(NDTV)
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