Andhra Pradesh: Big Fish in Cockfight Net Escape, Though Police Book 2,050 Cases
Kakinada: Police belonging to Kakinada, Dr. B.R. Konaseema, Eluru and West Godavari districts registered 2,050 cases against nearly 3,000 people on charges of organising and participating in gambling, including cockfights, gundata and playing cards.
The general impression these arrests have created is that big fish always get away, while police catch hold of the small fish to show that they are active.
There have been many organisers who spent crores on organising the cockfights and recovered five to six times of their investment. None of them have been booked.
When questioned, police maintained that they had no information about locations where betting stakes had been high.
A gambler in Tadepalligudem took the largest bet of Rs 1.25 crore, which went viral on social media and live telecast in some television and YouTube channels. No case has been filed against either the organiser, the bettor or prized cock owners in the Tadepalligudem rooster fight.
Tadepalligudem circle inspector Subrahmanyam said they have booked seven cases related to cockfight. However, he said, no case has been booked against those who could be seen betting on the TVs, as these locations could not be identified.
In Karapa mandal of Kakinada district, an organiser announced a Jeep as a gift to the prize cock that defeats the maximum number of cocks. He went on to present the jeep to the cock owner. In the same mandal, another organiser presented three Bullet bikes to owners of winning roosters. None of the organisers in Karapa mandal have been booked.
Similarly, no cases have been booked against the major organisers in Undi, Bhimavaram, Chintalapudi, Denduluru, Unguturu and other areas, where MLAs, MPs and other political leaders attended the cockfights.
