Horse handler sentenced to two years in jail for 2017 death of six-year-old at South Mumbai park

The police had booked Jaiswal alleging that he had not taken any safety measures while taking the child on the horse ride and his negligence had caused her to fall. During the trial, assistant public prosecutor Anand Sukhadeve, had examined six prosecution witnesses including the child’s parents, a gardener who had seen the child fall, the doctor who conducted the post mortem, a panchnama witness and the investigation officer. The accused had relied on the statement of the panch witness who said that he had seen broken paver blocks on the track, to claim that the horse’s hoof got stuck due to the uneven paver blocks causing the accident. The prosecution has said that no safety measures like helmet were provided by the accused.

“Accused Sohan Chotu Jaiswal is hereby convicted for the offence punishable under section 304-II of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, vide Section 235 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. He is sentenced to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of two (2) years and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000/ and in default of payment of fine, the accused shall suffer Simple Imprisonment for a further period of three months,” the court said.

The detailed order is yet to be made available. The court suspended the sentence for a month to allow the accused to file an appeal.

In November 2017 and January 2018, his two bail applications were rejected with the courts observing that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had stopped issuing licenses for horse riding in 2015 and that the handler had no license to offer the Rs 20 joyrides. The courts had also then said that the accused had claimed that complaints were made to the BMC about the uneven concrete blocks and potholes on the track, and hence he should have been aware of the condition of the track.

Jaiswal had been granted bail subsequently.