A rooster with a razor on its leg killed a man in an illegal cockfight in South India, police said, drawing attention to a practice that continues in some Indian states despite having been banned for decades.
Last week, the rooster, tied to his leg with a three-inch knife, flapped its wings in a panic and cut the groin of the owner, 45-year-old Thangulla Satish, Police Inspector B. Jeevan.
The incident took place in Lothunur village, Telangana state.
According to Jeevan, Satish was injured while preparing the rooster for battle. “Satish was hit in the groin by the cockerel knife and started bleeding badly,” the officer said, adding that the man died on the way to the hospital.
Police opened an investigation and were looking for more than a dozen people involved in organizing the fight, Jeevan added. If proven guilty, organizers are allowed to spend up to two years in prison.
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Cockfighting is common in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states, states of southern India, despite being banned nationally in 1960. Animal rights advocates have demanded control over the illegal practice, which is mainly organized as part of local Hindu festivals often attended by hundreds or even thousands of people. Cockfighting is often conducted under the supervision of powerful local politicians and involves a lot of gambling money.