The Olympic Torch procession through the city on Friday was briefly disrupted after a mare of the Calcutta Mounted Police went berserk, leaving an officer critically injured and creating panic among participants and onlookers.

A few tense moments later, officers managed to rein in the eight-year-old ?thoroughbred? mare, Idolise, and the procession continued uninterrupted.

?One of our officers, S. Bhattacharya, suffered a back injury and was admitted to Assembly of God Church Hospital, on Park Street. His condition is stable and we are taking all possible care of him,? said Zulfiquar Hassan, joint commissioner of police.

The Olympic Torch, currently touring Commonwealth countries, reached Delhi from Buckingham and came to Calcutta on Thursday. It is scheduled to travel to Bangladesh on Saturday.

The mishap occurred around 10.40 am, when the procession, which started from Hyatt Regency at 8.30 am, was passing by Kshudiram?s statue near Akashvani Bhavan. The Mounted Police was escorting the car carrying the Torch.

All of a sudden, Idolise began to neigh and bucked up. Bhattacharya, riding the mare, tried hard to rein her in, but Idolise could not be pacified. The officer could not keep his balance and was thrown off the mare?s back.

Idolise then galloped her way down Red Road ? police personnel and officers in pursuit ? forcing onlookers to scurry for cover. She was, however, calmed down to a trot after a smart canter.

?We were all shocked when the mare bucked up in the middle of the procession. It happened so suddenly,? said an officer of the Mounted Police.

?Bhattacharya tried valiantly to rein her in, but failed. As panic gripped the procession and people scurried to safety, we ran behind the mare to control it. Seeing Idolise go berserk, other horses, too, started behaving erratically, giving their riders a tough time. Fortunately, we could bring the situation under control without much delay,? the officer added.

Idolise, who ran in races before being inducted by the force, has been a regular with the Calcutta Mounted Police for the past few years, officers said.