Horse-riding banned at Mumbai’s Cooperage ground after 6-year-old’s death

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) submits a letter to the Colaba police to implement the ban

After a six-year-old girl died in a horse-riding accident at Cooperage ground this week, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decided to ban the activity in the area.

Horse carriages were already banned by the Bombay high court under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act by the Bombay High Court in 2015.

The BMC submitted a letter to the Colaba police to implement the ban from Wednesday saying it has not reviewed the horse trainers’ licences since 2015.

Horse carriages were banned under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act by the Bombay High Court in 2015.

“We were confused whether horse riding fell under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. When the high court banned the carriages, we had made sure they did not ply on the roads,” said Manoj Kumar Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (zone 1).

The police and the BMC, however, have yet to decide what they would do with the horses at Cooperage ground. “We will have to now decide on the rehabilitation of the horses,” said Sharma.

Meanwhile, the BMC has written to the company maintaining Cooperage garden asking them to explain immediately why the contract should not be terminated. In a letter, the BMC said according to tender specifications, it is the company’s responsibility to protect/ avoid unauthorised activity in the garden.

“The incident happened owing to negligence at your end, despite security instructions and a board displaying that horses shall not be allowed in the garden. Hence, you are hereby directed to explain immediately why your contract shall not be terminated,” the notice reads.

On Sunday evening, Mahendra Mistry had taken his wife Manju, nephew Parth and six-year-old daughter Janhavi for an outing. Mistry said they left their Jayant Heritage house in Khatachiwadi at Girgaum around 4pm and went to Nariman Point, “Janhavi began insisting on a horse ride and because there were no rides open at Nariman Point we went to Cooperage ground. I dropped off the kids and my wife at the garden and went ahead to find a parking spot. It was only a few minutes later that my wife called me weeping and saying Janhavi’s head was bleeding,” said Mahendra.

Mistry said the horse was made to run faster by the trainer, after which it slipped. Janhavi, hit her head on the granite boundary of a tree and later died at Bombay hospital.