Chennai: Fans of a traditional bull-taming ritual in southern India attacked a police station with stones and set some vehicles on fire on Monday in anger at being forcibly evicted from the beach where they been protesting for the past week in support of the sport.
Jallikattu involves releasing a bull into a crowd of people who attempt to grab it and ride it. It is popular in Tamil Nadu state, but India’s top court banned it in 2014 on grounds of animal cruelty.
Jallikattu events were held Sunday after being allowed to resume under an executive order, but the protesters remained at their campsite to demand the ban be lifted permanently.
Police officer Balakrishnan said police moved on the protest campsite after thousands of people refused to leave Marina beach in Chennai, the Tamil Nadu state capital.
Police cordoned off the roads leading to the beach and moved in large numbers to clear the area of nearly 7,000 protesters, said Balakrishnan, who uses one name.
Gayatri, a protester, said police used tear gas and batons to clear the area. At least 20 people were injured in clashes with the police, reports said.
Police were trying to remove nearly 2,000 people still there who have formed a human chain at the beach with some even standing deep in the water.
After Jalikattu events resumed Sunday in Tamil Nadu, two men were gored to death and dozens injured in the village of Rapoosal, the Press Trust of India reported.
The agitators went on a rampage on Monday, setting vehicles on fire at a few places, including in front of Ice House Police Station near the beach.
While vehicles were gutted, the front portion of the station and the name board were damaged in the fire.
Similarly, vehicles, including cars, were set on fire by unidentified persons near Nadukuppam.
Protesting the police action at Marina, hundreds of people blocked roads and staged sit-ins in several areas, including Triplicane, Teynampet, Kilpauk and T Nagar, causing severe hardship to morning office goers.
Several schools chose to shut early in view of the sudden turn of events while city buses were halted as a preventive measure. However, suburban electric train services were operated on most routes.
While most protesters were removed from Marina beach, a section of them refused to go and rushed too close to the shore. When police tried to evict them, they threatened to jump into the sea.
Police said protesters threw sand and water packets at them at the beach area and as a result they had to use “mild force”.
