Shaktiman horse assault case: HC seeks govt's reply over petition against acquittal of five accused

Nainital: The Uttarakhand high court on Thursday asked the state government to submit its response over the petition filed against the acquittal of five men accused in the Shaktiman horse assault case, including Mussoorie MLA Ganesh Joshi.

The single bench of Justice RC Khulbe has asked the government to file its reply by February 28 when the case will next be heard.

The petition, filed by one Hoshiar Singh Bisht, alleges that five people accused in the case -- MLA Ganesh Joshi, Pramod Bora, Jogendra Singh Pundir, Abhishek Gaur and Rahul Rawat -- were set free by the lower court for lack of evidence while overlooking the video clip of the incident. The petitioner has said that enough evidence is available to determine their guilt.

The case dates back to 2016 when an Uttarakhand Mounted Police horse, Shaktiman, sustained injuries during a clash between BJP protesters and police. The injury was so critical that one of its hind legs had to be amputated. The horse was given a prosthetic leg but it died of infection one month later.

A case was filed against MLA Joshi and four others in the case but the court of chief judicial magistrate acquitted them on September 23, 2021, for lack of evidence.


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