FIR Registered in Kolkata as Carriage Horse Collapses; PETA India Urges Use of Electric Vehicles
A first information report (FIR) was registered at the Bhawanipur Police Station after a disturbing video surfaced on social media showing one of the two horses hitched to a carriage collapsed on the road. The horse was visibly emaciated and likely suffering from heat stroke and dehydration. In the video, the handler can be seen shouting at the horse to haul the carriage again. The other horse, still harnessed to the same carriage, can be seen helplessly standing nearby. The video was originally uploaded on 21 April 2025 by a Facebook user, highlighting concerns about the welfare of the horses during Kolkata’s intense summer heat.
The horse’s condition — thin, severely dehydrated, and visibly distressed—was confirmed by an equine veterinary expert, who assessed the body score as 1.5 out of 5 and noted signs of tremendous stress and pain. PETA India is calling for immediate intervention by authorities to find, rescue and rehabilitate the injured horse and to ensure the prosecution of those responsible for the abuse under relevant laws.
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The FIR was registered under Section 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for negligent conduct with an animal posing probable danger to human life and under Sections 325 read with 62 of the BNS for attempting to maim and cause permanent harm to the animal. The case also invokes multiple sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, including Section 3 for failing in the duty of care, Section 11(1)(a) for overworking and inflicting unnecessary suffering, Section 11(1)(f) for unreasonably tethering the animal, and Section 11(1)(h) for failure to provide adequate food, water, and shelter. Additionally, Section 3(5) of the BNS was invoked for committing crimes in furtherance of common intention.
PETA India commends the Kolkata police for registering the FIR, a critical step toward justice for the abused horse and is calling for the animal’s urgent relocation to a sanctuary where they can receive immediate medical care and be spared from further trauma.
In 2024, at least eight horses died in Kolkata – as evidenced by information documented by PETA India and the CAPE Foundation. Through various investigations, dozens of horses in the city have been found to be anaemic, malnourished, chronically starved, and often with serious health conditions such as broken bones. Even though working on hard roads leads to irreversible leg conditions, they are still made to pull heavy carriages. When they are not working, there is no relief, as they are forced to stand in their own faeces without shelter.
The Calcutta High Court took serious note of incidents in which horses collapsed at the Maidan and elsewhere in Kolkata due to poor health. The court also noted other issues such as the wide-scale prevalence of unlicensed hackney carriages in the city and the high rate of abandonment of ailing and unfit horses by their owners. The court directed the state government to develop a proposal for rehabilitating horse owners and providing them with an alternative livelihood to hauling tourists in carriages so that “dispensing with the horse-drawn carriages as done in Mumbai can be considered and examined for its feasibility.”
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