A rooster fitted with a knife for an illegal cockfight in southern India has killed its owner.
Police are now searching for 15 more people involved in the event, which took place in the village of Lothunur in Telangana state earlier this week.
“We are searching for the other 15 people involved in organising the illegal fight,” local police officer B. Jeevan told AFP.
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.
BBC reported that the animal was held at a police station before being transferred to a farm.
Police said the animal was being readied to take part in a fight when it tried to escape. Its owner attempted to catch it but was struck by the 7cm-long (three inch) knife on the animal’s leg during the struggle.
Cockfighting was made illegal in India in 1960 but fights are still relatively common in rural areas such as Telangana with many falling around the Hindu festival of Sankranti.
It’s not the first time an owner has been killed by their rooster. Last year a man in Andhra Pradesh died after he was hit in the neck by a blade attached to his rooster.
According to CNN, the owner was taking his rooster to a cockfight when the incident occurred.
