Mule operators attack Kedarnath pilgrim; booked

Dehradun, Jun 14 (PTI) Mule operators here allegedly assaulted a Kedarnath pilgrim and asked him to leave Uttarakhand when he tried stopping one of them from beating up horses, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place on June 10 when the victim, who hails from Mahipalpur in Delhi, had set out on a trek to Kedarnath, the social media cell of the Rudraprayag police said.

When the man found a horse lying in a pitiable condition near the Bhimbali bridge, he stopped and sought the help of people nearby to rescue it, but no one came forward, the police statement added.

Meanwhile, he saw a man thrashing other horses and mules. No sooner did he intervene and ask them not to beat up the animals, a group of horse and mule operators attacked him and asked him to leave Uttarakhand immediately, the pilgrim said in his complaint.

Horses and mules are engaged along the trek route to ferry pilgrims to the Himalayan temple.

A video of the incident surfaced on social media.

While returning from Kedarnath, the victim lodged a complaint against the attackers at the Sonprayag police station on June 12, the police said.

Acting on his complaint, a case was lodged against four persons under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the statement said.

The attackers were also accompanied by a minor, against whom appropriate legal action is being taken, it added.

A recommendation has been made to the department concerned to cancel the licenses of the accused, the police said.