In a freak incident, two horses were injured in Hyderabad's Old City area, after they were hit by a truck while galloping on the wrong side of the road.
The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday, but surfaced after a video of the accident went viral on social media.
The video shows the horses galloping, pulling along a wedding chariot, even as there was no one on the reins.
The accident was seemingly shot by a person driving on the other side of the road, and even managed to capture the moment when the horses hit the lorry, and collapsed on the spot.
While the exact location of the accident is yet to be ascertained, reports suggest that it happened near Siddiamber Bazaar, on the Begum Bazaar stretch.
"The incident happened late in the night, and there is still no clarity as to who owns those horses. The owners of the chariot must have absconded. While we have not registered a case yet, we have seen the video, and are aware of the incident," a police officer from the Afzalgunj police station told TNM.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Alokparna Sengupta from Human Society International said, “(Horses) are nervous and traumatised while going through traffic...Horse carriage owners should be booked under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 under Sections 3 and 11. What do horses know about the wrong side of the road? They looked traumatised.”
This is also not the first such incident in the city.
In February this year, a horse being ridden by a youth went berserk and kicked two motorcyclists passing by it, killing one of them, in Mailardevpally.
Even at that time, it was reported that the horse was made to gallop, and the youngster's friends were shouting and whipping the horse from behind, before the incident.
There have also been complaints since then, of some youths indulging in horse racing in parts of Old City, during the night.
Many horses are also used in wedding processions.