Rachakonda police raid cock fight venue, arrest 19

Hyderabad: The Special Operations Team (SOT) of Bhongir zone along with Bibinagar police on Sunday raided a place in Chinnapalugu thanda under Bibinagar PS limits and arrested 19 persons for indulging in the banned cock fight and seized 40 cocks of which 32 were alive and 8 dead, net cash of RS. 1, 51, 000 along with 60 knives used in the cock fight, 14 cars and 30 bikes all worth Rs. 75 lakh from their possession. The Commissioner of Police, Rachakonda, Mahesh Bhagwat, said that, upon receiving credible information about the ongoing cock fight the teams rushed to the spot and found that around 35 to 40 persons were participating in the competition.

He noted, "As soon as the cops started raiding the place the main organisers, Madhusudhan Reddy, Sridhar and Pandu fled the scene and went absconding, whereas the other participants who had invested money in the cock fight were detained and were brought to the police station."

"Upon further questioning all the 19 arrested persons confessed that they had betted on the cock fights and came from the surrounding villages to indulge in the competition which has been banned. However special teams have been formed to nab the main organisers and the arrested ones were booked under section 188, 269 of IPC and section 9(2) of TS Gaming Act 1974, Section 11 (1) (N) Prevention of cruelty to Animal Act 1960 and were remanded to judicial custody," stated the officer.