Horse Forced To Smoke In Kedarnath Yatra
Uttarakhand police investigate a viral video of two men forcing a horse to smoke allegedly at Kedarnath trek.
Uttarakhand, a state with beautiful mountains, has grabbed the attention of the masses for a case of animal cruelty. There were several videos from Kedarnath of horses and mules being beaten, not given enough food etc. ISH News had released a video about a fight between the horse owners and pilgrims. You can have a look at it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QK1Q0SZNYE
A few days back a video had surfaced on the internet which was filmed on the way to the Kedarnath temple showing two men forcefully making a horse take puffs of what seems like weed (marijuana). The video purports to show one man holding the animal's mouth and a nostril while the second one is forcing it to inhale the smoke through the other nostril. It was being done to numb the animal's senses to force it to work harder. The video caught the attention of Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon who called for the arrest of the two men and tweeted, "Can we put a stop to the constant abuse that horses are going through in our holy places? What karma or prayers are these people gaining, when the innocent are being tortured,"
A number of social media users also expressed their anguish and demanded strict action against the men seen in the clip. The video caught the attention of the authorities as well. Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district police filed an FIR, to investigate the matter. After investigation the mule owner was identified as Rakesh Singh Rawat. He has been arrested in this connection. A case under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act has been registered against him. Police are investigating if the cigarette was stuffed with weed.
Popular actress and Bigg Boss 13 fame Himanshi Khurana was at Kedarnath when she came across a horse who lay unconscious on the ground. The actress broke down in tears as she fed the animal some water. The video, which is now going viral, drew the attention of many actors who demanded that the use of mules be stopped. The yatra to Kedarnath began on 25th April 23 and the police have registered 14 cases of cruelty to equines in two months. Furthermore, the police appealed to people to report all such incidents to the police. They assured of immediate action in the cases to prevent such incidents in the future.
