Koppal (Karnataka): You think you have seen it all and exactly then you come across events and incidents that make you wonder how come people manage to do something enough to lift the lid again from that 'I-have-seen-it-all' tank. Sample this: police in Karnataka on Tuesday 'arrested' three roosters after their gambler masters fled the scene of a cockfight. Yes, you read that right. Cocks were arrested and put behind bars.
The incident took place in Koppal district where Karatagi town police ended up putting the roosters in jail after they failed to nab their masters. The police, after acting upon the information about a cockfight going on in Basanna camp of the town, raided the place. The gamblers took off as they saw the police approaching them. The cops seized nine bikes belonging to the gamblers and also brought the three roosters to the police station and locked them up.
Pictures of the roosters in the jail, one perching on one corner while another gazing out of the bars are exactly how a first-timer can be portrayed in a prison. The slight difference though is that such thoughtfulness and regret in jail is associated with humans and not roosters.
Cockfighting primarily takes place in January, coinciding with Makar Sankranti. The 'bloody' sport where roosters try killing each other sometimes sees human deaths as well. On Sunday, two persons were killed in Andhra Pradesh after they were attacked by roosters with knives tied to them during a cockfight. The incidents occurred in Eluru and Kakinada districts in the Godavari region.
Also read: Rooster takes to drinking like fish to water, owner buys foreign liquor to keep it happy
Padma Raju (20) sustained grievous injuries after a rooster with a knife attached to its leg attacked him near a cockfight camp in Anantapalli village in Nallajerla Mandal. Raju had gone to watch the cockfight when one of the roosters pounced on him and the knife attached to its leg left deep cuts on his body. He succumbed while being shifted to the hospital at Nallajerla.
In the second incident that occurred at Velanka in Kirlampudi mandal in Kakinada district, Gande Suresh (43) sustained injuries on his wrist while trying to tie a knife to a rooster. He started profusely bleeding and succumbed before he was rushed to hospital. The incidents plunged the two families into gloom on a festival day.
Although a banned sport, cockfighting still carries on illegally in many parts of Karnataka. But, the scale of the event is fairly small compared to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana where the bets run into lakhs. Dakshin Kannada and Udupi districts are those districts that still follow this age-old tradition. Crores of rupees changed hands at the competitions organised with the patronage of local politicians.
