TIRUPATI: A villager was accidentally killed by a rooster during an illegal cockfight in the Chittoor district, police said on Monday. The illegal practice continues in the state despite a ban imposed by the Supreme Court.
During the event on Sunday, the rooster, with a sharp knife tied to its leg, fluttered in panic. In the process, the blade slashed the ankle of 37-year-old Gangulaiah, a resident of Mudivedu cross in Kurabalakota mandal. The incident happened at Parusha Thopu premises on the outskirts of Kalicherla village in Peddamandyam mandal.
Sources said the illegal cockfight was held by relatives of former MLA Kalicherla Prabhakar Reddy as part of ceremonies to mark the 11th day of his death. The Peddamandyam police are, however, yet to confirm this.
According to DSP Ravi Manohara Chary, Gangulaiah while witnessing the show was severely injured at Parusha Thopu on Sunday afternoon. He started bleeding heavily and died on the way to hospital. Peddamandyam police registered a case. Thirteen persons have been arrested.
Manohara Chary said roosters have been kept under police care and would be produced in court as evidence. “Those who organised or participated in the cockfight would be held responsible for Gangulaiah's death,” he said.
Meanwhile, cockfights have become common in the state and the neighbouring states of Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka despite the countrywide ban on it since 1960. Animal rights activists have for long been campaigning against the illegal practice, organised as part of festivals.
Cockfights are often held under indirect patronage of local politicians and involve large-scale betting and money transactions.
On February 23, 2021, a rooster used in a cockfight caused a villager’s death in a similar manner in Lothunur of Gollapalli mandal in Jagtial district. During the Sankranti festivities in 2020, a man died when the knife tied to a rooster pierced his thigh during a cockfight in Pragadavaram of Chintalapudi mandal in West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh.
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