Shaktiman dies, Rawat pays tribute

Shaktiman, a 14-year-old Kathiawari mare injured during a BJP protest, breathed its last on Wednesday, just days before it was scheduled to try out a new prosthetic leg. Uttarakhand caretaker Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who kept tabs on Shaktiman’s recovery, was among those who visited its enclosure after its death.

In the weeks following its amputation, Shaktiman learnt to walk using a prosthetic leg imported from the US. He was regularly administered ice packs and given physiotherapy everyday.

(Source: PTI)

In this file photo former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat feeds grass to the injured police horse Shaktiman in Dehradun.

Days after he was fitted with a prosthetic leg, Shaktiman even briefly wandered out of his makeshift enclosure amid cheers and claps from the team that looked after him. It also lost 70 kgs in the weeks after the incident.

(Source: PTI)

Shaktiman’s left hind leg had to amputated by a team of doctors to stop gangrene spreading from its infected wound.

(Source: PTI)

Shaktiman was hit with wooden sticks, allegedly by BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi and his associates. Under attack, Shaktiman kept stepping back from the group of protesters, till one of her legs buckled and got stuck in a railing. But the attack did not stop. Unable to move away from the mob, her left hind leg started bleeding profusely and she collapsed. (Source: Express photo)

BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi was arrested in connection with the alleged assault on Shaktiman.

Shaktiman’s death attracted strong reactions from animal activists and politicians.

(Source: PTI)

Final resting place of Shaktiman.

(Source: Express photo)