The BJP MLA from Mussoorie, Ganesh Joshi, was arrested today. His daughter, Neha, blamed the media for falsely implicating her father. The father-dauther duo maintained that the horse was not hit. Instead the stick was hit on the ground to scare away the animal. Here’s a report.
The social media has been abuzz with the images and tweets of a police horse, Shaktiman. BJP’s Mussoorie MLA, Ganesh Joshi, had allegedly caused the grievous injury to the animal, on Monday (March 14), during a protest.
On social media people shamed Joshi for his brutality. They demanded his arrest following the Monday incident, when the horse was injured during the protest led by him, against the state chief minister. The attack on the police horse Shaktiman had gone viral.
Joshi was arrested in Dehradun on Friday (March 18). Immediately after his arrest, his daughter, Neha Joshi, blamed the Congress and the media for implicating her father, sensationalsing the report. Her father did not hit the horse, she said. According to her, he was beating the stick on the ground just to scare it away. Video clippings show it clearly, she said.
Contrary to Neha’s statement, the TV channels and social media showed images of Joshi swinging a stick in utmost fury. He reportedly hit the Uttarakhand mounted police horse. The animal fell down with the impact of the terrible blows on its limb.
Its injured leg had to be amputed on Thursday (March 17), as veterinary doctors attending it said that gangrene was spreading. If the affected leg was not removed, the horse would die.
Talking to DTNS correspondent, Ankit Agarwal, a student of Allahabad University, asked, “Can a horse fall down if the lathi was hit on the ground and not its leg? Who is Neha trying to hoodwink?”
Sneha Mukherjee, a student in an engineering college opined, “Why was Neha silent all these days? She spoke only after her father was arrested today. It’s a ‘tutored statement’. Her father is at fault and has been rightly nabbed.”
Aniruddha, a CA final year student, said, “The video clippings show that people led by Joshi had hit the horse on the leg. But, as a leader, who was spearheading the agitation, he is to be blamed substantially. He has the vicarious responsibility. He has to accept the blame, graciously. The devil is in the detail.”
Meanwhile, Neha said, “We are not worried but are confident that truth will prevail.” She added that the BJP leadership is aware of her father’s innocence and backed him. His credibility wasn’t questioned.
Animal lovers and animal right activists, in India and abroad, have been up in arms against the dastardly attack on the hapless animal. They feel that though late, Joshi has been rightly arrested for his misdeeds.
In fact, BJP’s Maneka Gandhi too had expressed her strong displeasure and hoped that the party would punish Joshi, according to media reports.
But, Joshi, who was seen attacking the horse, was accused of breaking its leg. He, like his daughter, said that he had not hit the animal but was trying to scare it away, hitting the stick on the ground.
“Even if he did not actually hurt Shaktiman, he led the arrack,” felt Aniruddha. “Joshi cannot be absolved of his wrongs, though mob justice is equally unfair,” he emphasised.
Pix from Net