A 13-year-old horse of the Chennai City Police Mounted Branch died at the Mounted Branch stable on Tuesday morning.
As Star Force had been unwell, the Madras Veterinary Hospital had submitted a letter on last December, stating the horse was not fit for duty, and it should be retired.
Officials had been considering sending the stallion to Blue Cross, but permission was not given.
The Mounted Branch has been taking care of the stallion, which was bought from M.A.M. Ramasamy, a prominent industrialist.
Though Star Force had been ill for a while, he was supposed to be recovering until yesterday. The carcass has been sent for a post-mortem.
The horse was inducted into the patrolling force on February 24 February, 2008, and remained active in the services until December 20 December, 2012.
The Chennai City Police Mounted Branch is a service which patrols the beach with eight horses in two shifts, in order to manage the crowds and prevent anti-social activities. There are 32 officers in the Branch, comprising one inspector, one sub-inspector, seven head constables and twenty-three constables.
