Cockfights: Hyderabad High Court orders cases against four TDP leaders

HYDERABAD: Court on Wednesday directed the police of Cherukupally in Guntur district to register a case and investigate, as per law, the complaints lodged against the four public representatives for allegedly organising cockfights during the Sankranti festival season in spite of court orders.

The bench, comprising acting chief justice Ramesh Ranganathan and justice K Vijaya Lakshmi, passed the order on a petition filed by T Bhanu Prakash, an advocate from Tadipakavaripalem in Guntur district, seeking action against TDP MLAs A Satya Prasad and A Satish Prabhakar, and former MLAs Devineni Mallikarjuna Rao and M Venkata Subbaiah for allegedly organising cockfights in the district. The petitioner alleged that the police were trying to protect these leaders of the ruling party. The counsel, appearing for the respondent leaders, told the court that the petitioner belonged to YSR Congress, an opposition party, and the petition was politically motivated. In fact, YSR Congress leaders had participated in the cockfights, he said.

The government counsel submitted that the so-called complaint had not reached the police station concerned. Making it clear that it was not going into the merits of the case, the bench directed the police concerned to receive the complaint from the petitioner and register a case as per law and, after investigation, to file a final report before the competent local criminal court for adjudication.

It may be recalled that there was a pending PIL case filed by K Ramachandra Raju of West Godavari district complaining that officers had failed to curb the unauthorised gaming, illegal sale of liquor, prostitution and so on carried out under the garb of cockfights, particularly at Vempa and Srirampuram in Bhimavaram mandal during Sankranti. The court said it would not spare the public representatives who took part in the cockfights held illegally during Sankranti season.