Congress let Shaktiman die for political gain: Uttarakhand BJP legislator accused of killing horse
BJP legislator in Uttarakhand Ganesh Joshi also demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation against former chief minister Harish Rawat.
The Bharatiya Janata Party legislator in Uttarakhand, Ganesh Joshi, who was booked last year for hurting and killing Shaktiman, on Wednesday accused the previous Congress government of political vendetta and claimed he was framed by the former chief minister Harish Rawat in the case.
“Shaktiman bach sakta tha ... Pahado mein ghode girte rahte hain ... Lekin Congress ne political labh lene ke leye usko (Shaktiman) mar jane diya (Shaktiman could have had been saved ... Horses keep falling in the hills... But the then Congress government let the horse die for political gains,” Joshi told the Hindustan Times.
The BJP government in Uttarakhand has recommended the withdrawal of the court case against Joshi.
Thanking party leaders for the recommendation, Joshi also demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation against former chief minister Harish Rawat.
“A CBI probe will further clear the mist over the Shaktiman’s killing and role of the Harish Rawat,” he said.
The three-time MLA from Mussoorie said he felt sorry for the death of Shaktiman, a 14-year-old white horse, and said he will chop off his leg if proven guilty.
“I was nowhere guilty. The issue was recently raised before the party president Amit Shah that I had been framed. Perhaps after my request, the government decided to withdraw the case” added Joshi.
Joshi was arrested on March 18 last year after he was booked for allegedly hurting Shaktiman during a party rally held in the capital on March 14. In a video that went viral, Joshi was purportedly seen charging towards the white horse.
The horse’s hind leg was amputated and a prosthetic leg was fitted but it couldn’t survive and died on April 20. The incident snowballed into a major controversy.
Several veterinarians and police personnel, who were emotionally involved with Shaktiman during his one-month-long ordeal, said they are annoyed and disappointed with the government’s decision to withdraw the case against Joshi.
“The MLA had provoked horse and crowd … What other proof needed … It is sad Shaktiman could not get justice when he was alive, now his soul will never get justice,” said a police personnel closely associated with the horse.
A statue of Shaktiman has been erected inside the police line campus where the horse was buried.
