23-year-old man on honeymoon falls off horse in Matheran; dies

“It took around an hour-and-a-half to reach Ulhasnagar hospital and he was unconscious. He had severe head injuries. I tried to revive him in the ambulance,” said Dr Sachin Wani, attached to 108 ambulance service

Navi Mumbai: A 23-year-old man from Mohammad Ali Road died on Saturday at a hospital in Ulhasnagar after sustaining severe head injuries as a result of falling during a horse ride in Matheran on January 25.

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The deceased, identified as Mohammed Kashif Imtiaz Shaikh, was on his honeymoon with his wife along with another couple. According to the initial police report, all four were riding four different horses and while they were around 70 meters away from Sun and Shade Hotel, the horse, which the deceased was riding, suddenly picked up the pace, due to which the rider lost control and fell off.

He was first taken to Matheran Municipal Council-run BJ Hospital, from where he was shifted to the government hospital in Ulhasnagar. “It took around an hour-and-a-half to reach Ulhasnagar hospital and he was unconscious. He had severe head injuries. I tried to revive him in the ambulance,” said Dr Sachin Wani, attached to 108 ambulance service.

Assistant police inspector Shekhar Lave, who is in in charge of Matheran police station said that during his tenure, this was the first such case of death. “Around four to five minors fall in a year during horse riding, mainly during the monsoon season. We are still investigating what caused the fall. The death happened in Ulhasnagar and the case was registered there, which has been transferred to us now. The family members are not in a state of mind to speak yet and I have asked them to meet me after the final rites of the deceased. Once we record their statement, we will get an idea of whose negligence was it,” Lave said.

He also added that though there is a rule that tourists should be provided with helmets during horse riding, it is mostly not practised. “Several times, the tourists refuse to use a helmet. We penalise the horse keepers when found guilty of not providing the helmets to them,” he shared.

Meanwhile, Asha Kadam, president of Ashwapal Sanghtana looks into the welfare of horses in Matheran, said, “We are facing a major problem with the paver blocks laid during the lockdown period. The horse rides were stopped during the lockdown and we were not aware of the issues caused by them. Once the tourists were back and the horse riding re-started, we realised that horses are not able to ride smoothly and their hooves are slipping on them. Our horses, too, suffered injuries due to this and we have complained to the municipal council on many occasions but they pass the buck to MMRDA. The MMRDA asks us to go back to the Council. Our problems have still not been addressed by any authority. These paver blocks need to be replaced immediately.”

Matheran currently has around 460 horses and 94 hand-pulled rickshaws that form the primary transport in the eco-sensitive zone where motor vehicles are not allowed. E-rickshaws were introduced on a trial basis from Dasturi Naka to Matheran last month.

This is the fourth such incident highlighting poor safety measures for horse-riding and comparatively primitive emergency health care in the eco-sensitive zone of Matheran.

In 2010, actor-producer Manish Acharya of “Loins of Punjab Presents” had suffered serious head injuries after a fall from a horse when he was on a holiday in Matheran with his wife and two children. He was taken to hospital but was declared dead.

In April 2015, seven-year-old British national India Mathews was killed after the horse she was riding went out of control and dragged her behind for nearly 100 meters. She was horse-riding with her mother, and three siblings and her father Gavin Mathew was walking behind the horse when the incident took place. By the time she was brought to the hospital in Matheran, she was declared dead.

In 2016, 32-year-old Neelam Singh, a magazine publisher from Kurla, suffered a fall when she and her sister Suman had travelled to Matheran to celebrate their respective birthdays over a weekend. She suffered serious injuries and suffered severe blood loss by the time she was taken to a civic hospital run by the municipal council. She was later shifted to hospitals in Panvel, and South Mumbai, but suffered a multi-organ failure.

Activists have demanded greater safety measures for tourists and compulsory use of helmets during horse riding, but tourists continue to ride horses without helmets.