Shaktiman, a police horse that recently got a new lease of life with a U.S.-imported prosthetic leg, has died, NDTV reported. Nicknamed as the police horse, the white-skinned hoofed mammal had caught India's attention when a BJP legislative member was accused of injuring it during a recent protest.
Ganesh Joshi, an MLA from Mussoorie in Uttarakhand, allegedly assaulted the police horse during a protest in Dehradun on March 14. A grievous attack on its hind left leg had led to its amputation and simultaneously a national outrage demanding the arrest of the MLA.
NDTV reported doctors as saying that the horse may have died due to the shock from the new prosthetic limb.
The Indian Express reported that Jamie Vaughan, a veterinary activist operating at a U.S.-based NGO for animal care, had sponsored the $3000 worth prosthetic leg. It added that the well-trained equine was a part of Uttarakhand Mounted Police for years and had suffered from gangrene in his body.
