Rooster Kills Owner During Cockfight

A rooster has killed its owner during a cockfight in southern India.

The owner, Thangulla Satish, met his end after a knife fitted to the leg of his rooster during the illegal cockfight hit and inflicted serious wounds to his groin as it tried to flee the scene of the fight.

According to police, Satish, 45, died from loss of blood before he could reach a hospital in the Karimnagar district of Telangana state last week.

A manhunt for the organisers of the event has begun, police officer B Jeevan said on Sunday.

“Satish was hit by the rooster’s knife in his groin and started bleeding heavily,” the officer said.

The rooster was briefly held at the local police station before it was sent to a poultry farm. “We may need to produce it before the court,” said Jeevan.

Images of the rooster tied with a rope and pecking grain at the police station were widely viewed on social media.

Satish was one of 16 people organising the cockfight in the village of Lothunur, Jeevan said.

“We are searching for the other 15 people involved in organising the illegal fight,” Jeevan said.

They could face charges of manslaughter, illegal betting and hosting a cockfight.

Cockfights are banned but still common in rural areas of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha states – particularly around the Hindu festival of Sankranti.

Specially bred roosters have 7.5-centimetre (three-inch) knives or blades tied to their legs and punters bet on who will win the gruesome fight. Battles continue until one contestant is either dead or flees, declaring the other rooster the winner.

Aljazeera.