Horse Shaktiman Death Case: Court Reserves Decision

The Dehradun District Court had acquitted the accused and current cabinet minister Ganesh Joshi who hit the horse with a police baton leading to death.

Nainital: Heaing petition in the death of horse Shaktiman, a single bench of Justice Rakesh Thapliyal reserved the decision.

The petition was filed by Hoshiar Singh Bisht in the Uttarakhand High Court challenging the decision of the district court which had acquitted cabinet minister Ganesh Joshi, saying the petitioner is neither a complainant nor a witness.

It has also been mentioned in the petition that on March 14, 2016, BJP members gheraoed the assembly during the budget session in protest against the alleged failures of the then Congress government. During the protest near the assembly, there was also a clash between policemen and BJP supporters. It was alleged that during this time BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi snatched the sticks of the police and started hitting them. During this melee, the horse landed on its back, breaking its hind leg.

On April 23, 2016, the police made Ganesh Joshi an accused and also registered a case at the Nehru Colony Police Station in Dehradun. After this, the charge sheet was filed on May 16, 2016.

In the meantime, when the government changed, it filed an application to withdraw the case from the CJM court. On September 23, 2021, the lower court acquitted Joshi and the appellate court did not consider the petition fit for hearing.

After this, the petitioner demanded the cancellation of the lower court's decision in the Uttarakhand High Court along with punishment for Joshi and others.