1 killed, 75 hurt during Jallikattu in Madurai

1 killed, 75 hurt during Jallikattu in Madurai

1 killed, 75 hurt during Jallikattu in Madurai ByDivya Chandrababu Jan 15, 2025 02:00 AM IST Share Via Copy Link The deceased was identified as a bull tamer, B Naveen Kumar, 22, who was gored to death by a bull, police said

One person was killed and 75 people sustained injuries during the three-day Jallikattu (bull taming sport), which kicked off in Madurai on Tuesday, on the day of the harvest festival, ‘Pongal’.

People try to tame a bull as they participate in the Jallikattu event as part of Pongal celebrations, at Avaniyapuram in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday. (PTI)

The event saw the participation of 1,100 bulls and 900 bull tamers, officials aware of the matter said.

The deceased was identified as a bull tamer, B Naveen Kumar, 22, who was gored to death by a bull, police said.

“Kumar succumbed to the injures at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai,” an officer said on condition of anonymity.

Madurai district collector MS Sangeetha said, “Seventy-five people sustained injuries, and have been sent back home after treatment. Only one person died as the bull punctured his lungs.”

“Of the 75 injured people, nearly 25 had major stitches. The condition of all those injured is stable,” the collector added.

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Police said that all security measures were in place.

However, visuals that surfaced on social media and local vernacular television channels showed that Kumar purportedly entered the arena carrying his toddler son while a bull was let loose.

HT reached out to the district officials who did not respond to the request for comment.

However, the celebrations were not dampened and the enthusiasm of participants was palpable during the event.

The best bull was awarded a tractor worth ₹11 lakh, while the best bull tamer received a car worth ₹8 lakh. Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR), who is also an MLA from Madurai Central constituency, distributed the prizes.

More than 2,000 police personnel were deployed at the event and security measures were also stepped up with bomb squads, metal detectors and drone surveillance.

Visuals that surfaced also revealed that one of the injured participants refused to be admitted to the hospital and was purportedly seen arguing with police. When an officer urged him to undergo medical tests, the participant, who had intravenous fluid connected to him, tried to convince him standing near an ambulance, “By the time I leave, Jallikattu will be over. I am fine now.”

The tradition of the bull-taming sport is embedded deep in the Tamilians.

Jallikattu will also organised at Palamedu and Alanganallur in Madurai on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

Last January, chief minister MK Stalin inaugurated a Jallikattu stadium, built at a cost of ₹63 crore, in Madurai. The sport was temporarily banned in Tamil Nadu from 2014 to 2016 following a Supreme Court order.

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After massive protests were held against the ban in 2017, Tamil Nadu enacted the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act of 2017 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules of 2017 to override the ban.

Political parties and sections of people in the state have contended that Jallikattu is part of Tamil Nadu’s tradition and culture and it should continue.

In May 2023, the ruling DMK and opposition AIADMK took credit for the verdict of the Supreme Court’s constitution bench, which affirmed Tamil Nadu’s state law allowing Jallikattu.

But it was the expelled AIADMK leader, O Panneerselvam, who brought in the ordinance when he was chief minister in 2017.