BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi booked for showing cruelty to Shaktimaan, the horse

Dehradun: Ruling Congress and opposition BJP in Utttarakhand on Tuesday exchanged charges over a police horse getting injured after being attacked allegedly by BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi during a protest here even as the issue dominated the social media with people pouring their wrath on the Mussoorie legislator for showing cruelty to the hapless animal. Police has registered a case against Joshi and his supporters under Cruelty to Animals Act in connection with the incident, while several animal rights activists including Puja Bahukhandi have also lodged a police complaint against the Mussoorie MLA for his “inhuman” act. [caption id=“attachment_2675390” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Screenshot from CNN-IBN video.[/caption] When intercepted by police near Rispana bridge on way to the state assembly during a protest march yesterday, BJP workers tried to jump over the barricades prompting security personnel, including the mounted police, to swing into action to control the protesters. This enraged Joshi who allegedly began hitting a 13-year-old police horse named Shaktiman with a stick, causing fracture in one of its hind legs. After news about the horse being injured during protests by BJP spread, Chief Minister Harish Rawat visited the stable located at the police lines where it has been kept for treatment. Rawat asked sub-inspector Shyam Singh Chauhan, who is looking after the injured animal, to take good care of the horse in consultation with veterinary doctors. Rawat also asked Dehradun SSP Sadanand Daate to take the help of doctors of the Veterinary Hospital, Chennai. “A look at the horse shows the excruciating pain the animal is undergoing. A political party should not vent its frustration on a hapless animal in this manner. “Political workers must learn the value of restraint and tolerance. It seems the word tolerance does not exist in BJP’s dictionary,” Rawat said. PTI