BJP demands 'unbiased' probe, says Joshi did not injure horse

With Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ganesh Joshi drawing major flak for injuring a police horse in Dehradun, another party MLA Chandan Namdas on Wednesday defended his colleague and said that the horse got injured after it fell.

Demanding an 'unbiased' probe on this matter, Namdas told ANI that horses were used to trample his party workers, who were protesting against the Congress-led government in the state.

"We are sad that the horse's leg is broken but these allegations are baseless. Ganesh Joshi ji did not injure the horse, it fell on its own and got injured. This is an attempt to fail the rally. There should be an unbiased probe into this matter," he said.

"Ganesh Joshi ji tried to stop the horse, but the place where the horse fell was a different area. He waved a stick at the horse, but that was at a different place and the place where the horse fell was different. Both incidents are separate and attempts are being made to club them," he added.

The police have registered a case against Joshi and his supporters under Cruelty to Animals Act in connection with the incident, while several animal rights activists have also lodged a police complaint against the MLA for his "inhuman" act.

The ghastly attack on the horse took place during a protest on Monday against Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Monday for 'misuse' of funds.

The BJP MLA allegedly attacked the horse deployed to disperse the protesters during a protest against Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat.

The protest took a violent turn when in a bid to dismount the rider the protesters charged at the horse with sticks and broke the animal's leg.

Joshi was allegedly seen in the video attacking the horse and other agitators supporting him in the effort.

The horse underwent a surgical procedure to fix one of its hind legs.