What began as a police crackdown on an alleged cockfighting event at a village temple in Karnataka’s Bantwal taluk has now escalated into a full-blown political controversy, with cases being registered against leaders from both the Congress and the BJP within a span of two days.
As per TV9 Kannada reports, police have booked 27 persons, including former BJP MLA Sanjeeva Mathandur and Dakshina Kannada BJP district president Satish Kumpala, in connection with a cockfighting event allegedly held during the annual jatre (temple fair) at the Ullalti Durgaparameshwari Temple in Kepu village near Vittla. The case was registered following a raid conducted by a police team led by an inspector, acting on specific information that cockfighting was being carried out in violation of the law.
According to police, around 20 roosters were seized during the raid. Officials claimed that despite being informed about the legal prohibition on cockfighting, those present at the venue allegedly refused to disperse. It is further alleged that several leaders at the spot instigated people to continue the event, prompting the registration of the case under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Sections 189(2), 190, 221, 223, and 49, along with Sections 3 and 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Besides Sanjeeva Mathandur and Satish Kumpala, the FIR names BJP leaders and local figures such as Muraleedhar Pai, Dayananda Ujiremaru, Hariprasad Yadav, Ashok Shetty of Vittla, and Rajesh Balekallu, among others.
Notably, this case follows closely on the heels of an FIR registered just a day earlier against Congress MLA Ashok Rai and 16 others for the very same activity at the same temple premises. In that instance, the MLA reportedly argued that cockfighting was a long-standing ritual practice associated with the temple jatre, carried out without gambling and only once a year as part of tradition. Despite these submissions, police proceeded to register a case against the legislator and others.
With FIRs now filed against leaders of both major political parties, the issue has taken a distinctly political turn. The BJP has accused the Congress-led state government of using the law selectively to interfere in Hindu religious practices, alleging that age-old customs are being targeted under the pretext of legality while similar strictness is not shown elsewhere.
The Congress, on the other hand, maintains that the law must apply uniformly, regardless of political affiliation, and that animal cruelty cannot be justified in the name of tradition.
Kepu and the ritual practice of Kori Katta
Kepu is a small yet culturally important village in the coastal Tulunadu region of southern Karnataka, near Vittla in Bantwal taluk. Like many Tulunadu villages, Kepu has a strong tradition of folk religious practices rooted in buta–daiva aradhane, distinct from formal, temple-centric Hindu rituals. Within this cultural framework, the traditional cockfight, locally known as Kori Katta or Kori Kamba, was historically a ritual offering, not a form of gambling. It was performed once a year during the village jatre as a symbolic sacrifice to seek rain, fertility, protection from disease, and overall communal well-being. These rituals followed strict customary norms, involved no betting or commercial activity, and were conducted in sacred spaces under the supervision of village elders and ritual custodians.
Daiva belief and spiritual significance
The Kori Katta tradition in Kepu is closely associated with the worship of a local guardian Daiva believed to protect village boundaries and uphold moral order. Considered fierce yet just, this spirit is seen as subordinate to major Hindu deities but powerful in enforcing village dharma. The folk rituals of Kepu are spiritually linked to Ullalthi Durgaparameshwari Temple, where Sakti worship blends seamlessly with buta traditions. In Tulunadu belief systems, such demi-gods are regarded as living presences rather than myths, often manifesting through the patri (oracle) during rituals to deliver judgments, warnings, and blessings to the community.
What we are witnessing in Tamil Nadu under the DMK and now in Karnataka under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is not true secular governance but selective secularism that unfairly targets Hindu customs. Age-old Hindu traditions, rooted in local culture, faith, and community life, are repeatedly branded as backward or illegal, while practices of other religions are left untouched. If concern for law, animal welfare, or reform were genuine, the same rules would apply during Ramadan or Eid al-Milad as well. The fact that such scrutiny is reserved only for Hindu rituals exposes a clear bias. This approach reflects a political mindset that normalizes targeting Hindu identity in the name of progress, while appeasement is dressed up as secularism.
