A rooster landed in the custody of the Khammam urban police here after being rescued by a police team from a cockfighting event near the town on Sunday.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team raided a cockfighting event in an agricultural field in the vicinity of a professional college on the outskirts of the town on Sunday evening.
According to sources, the punters managed to escape from the spot with cash and all the roosters in the contest ring, except for one bird, which sustained minor injuries on its legs.
The police seized the bird with two small knives tied to its legs and two motorbikes from the spot.
The incident brought to the fore the alleged attempts by some organised gangs to clandestinely organise cockfighting involving high-stake gambling to lure gullible college students into betting in the district.
The punters, who hitherto confined their cockfighting events to some areas in Dammapeta and Aswaraopeta mandals bordering Andhra Pradesh, renewed their attempts to spread their illegal activities to the areas adjoining the district headquarters, apparently targeting college students, sources added.
We have arrested nine persons including a few college students and daily wage labourers on charges of participating in the banned cockfighting, said Mogili, Sub-Inspector of Police, Khammam urban police station.
The nine accused as well as the seized bird have been produced before the local court here on Tuesday.
