Chakraborty had to intervene in the matter after preliminary investigation revealed Roy had forced his driver to take responsibility for the incident, when allegedly Roy himself was driving the car.

It was found that Sudhanshu Bose, a constable of the Kolkata police and Roy’s driver, was not driving the car when the accident took place. Roy had allegedly forced Bose to surrender saying he would save him legal hassles.

“We are yet to receive his reply on the issue. Our senior officers are probing the matter,” said Chakraborty.

Jawed Shamim, Joint CP (Headquarters), said according to the rules, a showcause notice has to be answered within 15 days. “If not, we send a reminder and grant seven more days before taking any action,” he added.

On October 5, an official complaint was lodged with the Maidan police station holding Bose responsible for the accident that killed the horse.

He was arrested but granted bail later in the day. Bose, however, admitted to Investigating Officer S C Das that he had surrendered under pressure from Roy.

“We are collecting evidence. Constable Sankar Roy, who was riding the horse, has refused to make any statement against the DC. He had said he failed to recognise who was driving the car. We will produce the chargesheet by the end of this month,” said Das.

A senior officer of the Maidan police station said that according to the eyewitnesses, Bose was probably not at the wheel when the accident took place.

Under pressure from his boss, he took the onus of the accident on himself and was booked for rash and negligent driving. But an officer on duty claimed the green Santro was driven by the DC himself, he added.

Sakil Ahmed, DC (I), Security Control, said Roy is on duty and no action has been initiated against him. Roy, however, refused to comment on the issue.

Czar’s Hawk was in the stables at S N Banerjee Road since 1999 after it was gifted to the Kolkata Mounted Police by the racecourse authorities.

“This is the third horse killed in an accident. In 2007, Shibaji, a horse of the Mounted Police, was killed after a minibus knocked it down on Mayo Road,” said Chandi Charan Panda, OC, Kolkata Mounted Police.