Voice of Reason, a Mounted Police Horse, Dies After Being Scared by Firecrackers

It is assumed that something nonsensical claimed the life of Voice of Reason.

Voice of Reason, a young mounted police horse, was killed late on Sunday night after running into cars while on duty outside Eden Gardens. The firecrackers had just burst outside the stadium following India's crushing victory over South Africa, and the other horses had begun to run around erratically.

According to Mounted Police officials, the mare passed away from "traumatic shock and internal injury."

At the sound of the unexpected crackers, Voice of Reason had raced off up Plassey Road.

Earlier this year, a racehorse was admitted into the Calcutta police force. When it heard the crackers on Sunday, it raced down Plassey Road at top speed, struck two or three cars, and wrecked on the road, according to an on-scene officer.

It was laying motionless in the middle of the road when the cops arrived to save it.

To save the mare's life and return it to the stable, which is less than a kilometer away, an officer said that the saddle had to be cut apart. The officer reported that Voice of Reason fainted five minutes after reporting back to the stable. Numerous more equines had similar injuries.

Naresh Ojha, secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal, informed this publication that the fireworks were the same ones used in the IPL. "We had prior permission from the Pollution Control Board and Calcutta police," he said.

Horses have a very keen sense of hearing, much like any other animal, according to veterinary specialist Swapan Kumar Ghosh. Animals' hearing are much more sensitive than people', therefore a same sound has a far greater effect on them, according to Ghosh.

According to Ghosh, because Mounted Police horses are often used for Maidan duty and are called upon to deal with law-and-order emergencies, they are not entirely unfamiliar with noise.

It is difficult to pinpoint the precise cause of the incident since Mounted Police horses have been doing their duties at Eden Gardens for a number of years, according to the veterinarian, who has also worked with the Alipore Zoo, the Calcutta Police Dog Squad, and the Mounted Police.

Given their age and agility, 21 horses were chosen for Sunday's "high voltage" competition, according to a Calcutta police official.

Voice of Reason was in excellent health and was a very young horse. We selected the young and healthy since they would be on duty for a long time—from 11 a.m. till the finish of the game. Voice of Reason operated nonstop," he said.

"A few were brought back to the stable in between for rest but a skeletal force was on duty through the match," said an officer.

An officer who saw Voice of Reason for the final time reported the following after it crashed, as it hobbled back to the stable within the deputy commissioner of police's (central division) complex on SN Banerjee Road: "The team returned around 10.15pm." This horse began to progressively lower its head and then nod from side to side in a matter of minutes. It fell to the ground in a matter of seconds."

The mare was cremated in Dhapa after undergoing a post-mortem examination early on Monday. "Aside from a little cut next to one of its eyes, it was free of outward wounds. It passed away from acute shock, according to a Calcutta police official.

Three other horses were hurt as well; some required intravenous injections or to be placed on saline.