Fifty five spectators were injured when people let loose bulls during the annual jallikattu festival held at St Antony’s Church at Kandupatti, near here on Thursday.
Despite district administration and police warning the people against letting loose bulls in the open, especially after two spectators were gored to death in Siravayal on Tuesday, about 200 bulls were let loose in the open, posing danger to spectators.
Police said most of those injured were treated as out-patients at the local hospital, while ten people were referred to Sivaganga Government Medical College hospital for further treatment.
As instructed by Collector G. Latha and Superintendent of Police T. Jayachandran, revenue and police personnel addressed the local people through public address system, ahead of the festival on Wednesday and advised them not to let loose bulls in the open.
They told the public that they could take part in the jallikattu after registering their bulls.
On Wednesday night too, a special police team visited the village and kept vigil.
On Thursday, SP, District Revenue Officer (DRO) and Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) camped in the village but could not prevent people from letting loose the bulls in the open.
Every year, Jallikattu has been organised in the village on the fifth day of Tamil month ‘Thai’ near the Church after celebrating ‘Samathuva Pongal’ (community Pongal). Local people, cutting across religious affiliations, participated in the festival.
This year, 37 registered bulls were let out through the ‘vaadi vasal’.
Last year, when the ban on jallikattu was in force, local people had attacked a police party and damaged three police vehicles when police prevented them from organising the jallikattu. When the event was organised later in February, one spectator was gored to death when bulls were let loose in the open.
In 2014 too one person was killed.
