Hyderabad: Racing horses that were shifted to a stud farm in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur from a Hyderabad-based race club in May this year have been dying at a rapid pace, prompting complaints from animal rights activists and a PIL in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

According to media reports, 57 horses in the custody of Suresh Paladugu, head of the Horse Power Super League (HPSL) in Hyderabad, were shifted to a stud farm in Raipura village in Jabalpur in May. Since then, 19 horses have died due to various reasons.

The first 13 horses reportedly died of heat, and the last six, which died over the past two weeks, had suffered various illnesses. Two of them died due to septicemia, two to paralysis. One succumbed to colic and another to respiratory failure, stated a report in the Times of India.

Reports of eight horses dying surfaced in late May, after which a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by activist Simran Issar on May 23 seeking a probe against Suresh Paladugu and the Jalbapur farm owner Sachin Tiwari. The hearing on this matter is currently pending before the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

The petition filed in the High Court alleges that 154 horses were in Suresh’s custody in Hyderabad; however, the whereabouts of 100 others are unknown.

According to Paladugu, the horses were owned by a company called HithaNet [India Pvt Ltd.], responsible for their care. He said that his horse racing company was only involved in strategising and conducting the races with a new two-horse format, The Hindu reported.

He also said that the races started in late 2023 and had discontinued in February this year.

The matter came to light in April after a Jaipur-based polo player, Lavanya Shekhawat, filed a complaint with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) after receiving information and pictures of the horses allegedly being kept in poor condition at the Hyderabad race club.

She alleged that horses were malnourished, injured and suffering from neglect. In response to her complaint, the horses were then shifted to Jabalpur.

The horses were also suspected of having Glanders disease; however, according to reports, the test results have come back negative.

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