Police are going hi-tech to check cockfights, a banned game, by deploying drones during the harvest festival of Sankranti in the State.
The bloodsport is a traditional game in the coastal districts, particularly West Godavari, Krishna and East Godavari, and thousands of birds either die or are grievously injured in the fights.
Recently, police launched 50 drones. “We have 68 drones at our disposal. The newly launched drones are capable of shooting high-definition videos and have a range of up to 5 km. They are equipped with three additional batteries and can be deployed at a stretch for about 25 minutes,” said.
“Earlier, it was not possible for police to patrol deep in the villages to check cockfights. Now, we can arrange invisible policing,” another police officer said. Drones will be given to the police stations concerned which in turn will take necessary steps.
Police will track the movements of the organisers, identify the arenas through drones and conduct raids. Persons involved in the banned game can be identified with the help of footage captured by drones, a police officer said.
Big ticket event
Punters name the cocks as ‘Dega’, ‘Nemali’, ‘Hamsa’, and ‘Kaki,’etc, depending on the colour, height and stamina of the bird. Price of the fowls ranges between ₹2,000 and ₹25,000.
Organisers arrange arenas for the fights and bets run into in lakhs. Floodlights and galleries are arranged at the venues. The other needs of the participants are taken care of by fast food centres, liquor shops and hotels. Gambling and ‘gundata’ are also organised to keep the participants totally engaged.
Joint inspection teams
Responding to a PIL in 2018, the High Court had directed the government to implement the ban on cockfights strictly and was tracking the measures taken by the police, animal husbandry, revenue and other departments.
Accordingly, the government had constituted joint inspection teams and conducted 4,950 awareness programmes by putting up banners, organising rallies and meetings to prevent cockfights in villages. Police had seized 4,530 roosters, arrested 7,123 persons and booked 3,228 cases between January 5 and January 18.
