The famed jallikattu at Periya Suriyur ushered in the festive season in the district on Tuesday.
Organised by the village committee on the occasion of Mattu Pongal, this year’s event, which witnessed the participation of around 3,000 persons from across the district, went on peacefully amidst tight security.
However, around 60 persons, most of them spectators, were reportedly injured over the course of the event. Nine of them sustained serious injuries.
No untoward incidents were reported, police sources said, adding that a posse of around 500 policemen led by Tiruchy Superintendent of Police P R Lalitha Lakshmi, Perambalur SP TK Rajasekaran and eight other DSP’s were posted at the venue. Also, riot control vehicles and trooper vans were stationed in the outskirts of the village near the temple ground. The festivities began around 8 am, with around 355 bulls from Tiruchy, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Perambalur and Karur assembling on the temple grounds. The clock struck 10.20 am when Collector Jayashree Muralidharan officially flagged off the jallikattu, which witnessed the participation of around 225 young men. In Suriyur, the participating bulls were released onto the ground after a special puja to the village deity, ‘Narkadalkudi Karuppa naswamy’.
As the festivities were underway, some bulls jumped the barricades, giving anxious moments to the spectators. In one such incident, a bull rammed a spectator’s throat and the hapless viewer was rushed to a hospital and was now battling for life.
The event came to an end by around 4 pm after which, prizes were distributed.