8 Racehorses Die in Madhya Pradesh; Heatwave Suspected, Disease Also Under Probe

In Raipura village, just outside Panagar in Madhya Pradesh, eight racehorses have died, suspected due to extreme heat and stress. These horses were among 57 brought from Hyderabad earlier this month. The horses were housed at a private racecourse being developed by local businessman Sachin Tiwari. He claims he was setting up Madhya Pradesh’s first horse racing and breeding center. But before it could launch, tragedy struck.

The horses of high-value Marwari, Kathiawadi, and Thoroughbred breeds were transported from Hyderabad to Raipura village between April 29 and May 3. By May 13, eight were dead. The animals showed signs of illness: fatigue, swelling, and lack of appetite.

Dr. Prafull Moon, Deputy Director of the Veterinary Department, said,

“When the horses arrived, the weather was extremely hot. They couldn’t adjust to the sudden change. The deaths likely occurred due to heat stress and the heatwave.”

Tiwari said he initially assumed the change in weather caused the problems. But as more horses fell ill, he informed the local administration.

The deaths of eight racehorses has exposed a tangled web of animal neglect, regulatory violations, and probable disease outbreak. The horses, linked to a controversial online betting operation in Hyderabad, were shifted without proper health checks or documentation. Now, with suspicions of glanders, a deadly zoonotic disease, veterinary teams are investigating while activists demand accountability. 

The incident has sparked a statewide probe and raised national concerns over biosecurity, animal welfare, and illegal racing.

Deaths ignite glanders panic

As per the media reports, veterinary teams reached the farm. Blood samples were taken and sent to the National Research Centre on Equines in Hisar, Haryana. Test results for 44 horses came back negative. Others are still pending. The area was not sealed, despite suspicions of glanders.

Officials buried all eight dead horses 15 feet deep, without post-mortems, following national biosecurity protocols. The burial site was marked by the Revenue Department to prevent public access.

Veterinary doctor Devendra Gupta said,

“We suspect glanders, but it’s not confirmed. If confirmed, quarantine measures will follow.”

Glanders is a bacterial disease caused by Burkholderia mallei. It spreads through contaminated food or water, affects horses, and can also infect humans. Symptoms include nasal discharge, ulcers, breathing difficulty, and fever. It has no cure or vaccine.

Glanders can spread from horses to humans. It causes painful lumps and often leads to death if untreated. Authorities are now monitoring people who had close contact with the horses.

All 49 surviving horses have been isolated. A three-member expert team from Bhopal—Dr. Jayant Tapase, Dr. Sunil Tumadia, and Dr. Shahikiran visited the site and reviewed conditions. They inspected the stables, evaluated samples, and filed a report under the National Action Protocol.

Rules flouted

Sachin Tiwari said the horses came from Hitha Net India Pvt Ltd and belonged to Suresh Paladugu. Paladugu is the head of Horse Power Super League (HPSL), an online betting operation allegedly based out of Hyderabad.

Tiwari claimed he was only a caretaker. He had no documents to prove ownership. Only 29 of the 57 horses had valid medical passports, which are mandatory for inter-state transport. The rest were brought in containers without approval or checks.

Collector Deepak Saxena confirmed this.

“Horses were transported without required medical or transport clearance. We’ve asked the Superintendent of Police to investigate the entire operation.”

The situation escalated after animal lovers and activists began raising alarms.

PETA India and activists like Simran Ishar and Lavanya Shekhawat have played a central role in exposing the issue.

Shekhawat, a polo enthusiast from Rajasthan, had alerted PETA to the poor condition of horses at the Hyderabad Race Course months earlier. Her email described starvation, injury, and death among horses left to die without food or grooms. She said the operation in Hyderabad collapsed after allegations of result tampering and financial fraud.

“After the raid by PETA in Hyderabad, these horses were hurriedly shifted to Jabalpur to hide them,” Ishar alleged.

She said the horses were being kept under tin sheds in Raipura like cattle. No proper care or facilities were in place. Many were weak and malnourished.

Following Shekhawat’s complaint, Maneka Gandhi also intervened and informed officials in Jabalpur. A medical team soon visited the site and found several horses in poor condition.

Despite early warnings, the local administration only acted after the horses started dying.

Horse trade and scandal

The bigger picture appears darker. Sources say Paladugu ran HPSL using Hitha Net India Pvt Ltd and another entity called "Un Dos Matchup Racing". He owned over 150 horses and hosted 24 online races daily.

The operation was popular among overseas bettors, especially in the Philippines, who placed crores of rupees in online bets.

But by early 2025, the business collapsed. Allegations of match-fixing and unpaid staff led to its closure. Nearly 90 horses went missing. The remaining 64 were scattered. Some were sent to Jabalpur, including an injured mare named Grey Shadow. She later disappeared again and is suspected to have been killed to destroy evidence.

Lawyer Umesh Tripathi, who plans to file a Public Interest Litigation in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, said, “These races were run illegally using codes to identify each horse. Once exposed, they tried to shift the horses quietly to various parts of the country. The Jabalpur deaths are a result of this cover-up.”

Govt probes deaths and violations

The Madhya Pradesh government has launched a full investigation. District Collector Saxena has directed police to verify all horse transport documents and interview those involved.

Veterinary teams remain at the site, monitoring the surviving horses and those who came into contact with them.

Dr. Prafull Moon, Joint Director of the Animal Husbandry Department, said four samples were sent for re-examination due to symptoms. Reports for five others are still pending.

“Symptoms of glanders were present. We’re following national protocols,” he said.

He also said that without confirmed glanders diagnosis, post-mortems were not done, following national biosecurity protocols.

Local residents and horse lovers are stunned. Raipura, a quiet village, is now at the center of a national scandal involving money, animal cruelty, and health risks.

“I only took the horses for caretaking,” said Tiwari. “They were not being looked after in Hyderabad. I wanted to set up a horse training and breeding center in Jabalpur.”

But activists like Ishar argue that this is just a smokescreen. 

“You don’t move such high-value animals without documents and preparation unless you’re hiding something.”

Raghuvendra Singh Dhunlod of the Indigenous Horse Society of India echoed the concern. “These are heritage breeds. If this abuse continues, we risk losing not just lives but history.”

Authorities wait for the remaining test results. If glanders is confirmed, the site may be sealed, and mass quarantining may begin. Legal action is also expected based on transport and documentation violations.

Meanwhile, pressure is growing. Animal rights groups demand that the surviving horses be relocated to safe government shelters. The fate of Grey Shadow and the rest of the missing horses remains unclear.

Note: Images used are for representational purposes only.

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