Even as the heart-wrenching images of the bloodied and injured leg of Shaktiman were being aired on TV, the injured limb of the 14-year-old white horse was amputated on Thursday evening to save his life. According to Uttarakhand Director General of Police B.S. Sidhu the amputation was “unavoidable and urgent”.
“The opinion of the doctors was that Shaktiman might lose its life by Friday morning due to spread of gangrene, if the amputation is not done. That is why we decided to go for amputation. It was diagnosed that the blood circulation to the injured part of leg, had stopped,” Mr. Sidhu told The Hindu on phone.
Shaktiman's hind leg was brutally fractured after the horse was allegedly attacked by BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi during a protest in Dehradun. Earlier a team of ten doctors performed a five-hour surgery on the horse, a pampered member of the police force for last ten years. Despite many attempts of its caretakers, Shaktiman, could not stand on its own. The horse had refused to eat after operation, said officials who were taking care of.
Man arrested for pulling bridle
A man was arrested from Haldwani in Nainital district on Thursday for pulling up the reins of a police horse and precipitating its fall during a protest march by BJP in Dehradun on March 14.
Identified as Pramod Bora, the man was arrested from Mukhani area of Haldwani on a requisition by Dehradun police, said Nainital SSP Sweety Agarwal. The man was arrested for forcefully pulling the bridle of the horse and causing its fall, which left it injured, said Dehradun SSP Sadanand Daate.
The horse fell with its entire weight on its hind quarters under the combined impact of BJP’s Mussoorie MLA Ganesh Joshi’s alleged frontal attack on it with a lathi and Bora pulling up its reins from one side, he explained.
Asked about the horse’s condition, which was operated upon by a team of vets, the SSP said it was still in pain and could not stand. “Army doctors are attending on the horse. We are doing everything we can to help it recover from the injuries,” Mr. Daate said.
Chief Minister Harish Rawat also expressed concern at the condition of the horse.
(With inputs from PTI)
