Six-year-old girl dies after falling off horse during joyride in south Mumbai

The Girgaum resident was declared brain dead at Bombay hospital; the horse rider has been arrested

A joyride turned fatal for a six-year-old, who fell from a horse near Kala Ghoda on Sunday evening. Janhvi Sharma, a resident of Girgaum, was with her parents, older sister and a few other relatives when the incident occurred.

Horse carriages are banned at Nariman Point and Marine Drive, but not near Cooperage garden where the accident took place. (HT File / PHOTO USED FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE)

According to the police, Janhvi fell off the horse near Cooperage garden and was rushed to hospital by her parents. The police received a call informing them about the mishap around 7pm from Bombay hospital.

At the time of going to press, the police were yet to record the parents’ statements, which would help establish the exact sequence of events. Police sources said Janhvi’s father, Mahendra, is a senior executive at a private firm.

Manoj Kumar Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (zone 1), said the police have lodged a case of culpable homicide (section 304 of the Indian Penal Code) against the horse rider Soham Jaiswal, 30, and he has been arrested. “Horse carriages are banned at Nariman Point and Marine Drive, but not near Cooperage garden,” Sharma clarified.

The police said Jaiswal, a resident of the area, was not working with any organisation and operated alone.

While Janhvi, according to the police, was initially taken to Bombay hospital, her post-mortem was conducted at St George Hospital.

One of Janhvi’s neighbours, who did not wish to be named, said: “We were informed by her family about the incident. We still do not know what happened, but Janhvi was riding the horse when she fell off and started bleeding through her nose and head. She was rushed to Bombay hospital, where she was declared brain dead by the doctors.”