A 59-year-old head constable of Vazhaipandal police was injured after a bull hit during a bull race that was held in Pennagar village near Kalavai town in Ranipet on Thursday.
Police said the constable was identified as K. Prabhakaran. Initial inquiry revealed that a team of around 20 police personnel led by sub-inspector C. Senthil Kumar was deployed to regulate crowds during the bull race event in the village.
The runway was 100-metre-long and 15-metre-wide with six-feet-tall-wooden barricades on both sides of it. Around 200 bulls were registered for the event, which was scheduled between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Bulls were allowed to run on the mud track in the village.
As police were managing the crowd, a bull hit the head constable, who was pushed a few metres away from the track. Immediately, police and health staff rescued the injured constable and shifted him to the Government Taluk Hospital in Kalavai. Later, he was admitted to a private hospital in Walajah town. A case has been registered. A probe is underway.
For this year, around 80 villages in Vellore were allowed to organise bull races till May. In other words, the bull race is being held in three villages every day except on Sundays to prevent surging crowds to witness the event.
In Tirupattur and Ranipet districts, bull races were earmarked for 40 villages and two villages respectively. Traditionally, the practice of organizing bull races is not followed in Tiruvannamalai, officials said.
