Chennai (PTI): Seven persons, mostly spectators and a bull owner, died in the jallikattu and manjuvirattu events held across Tamil Nadu on Kaanum Pongal day, police said on Friday.

Two bulls too died in separate incidents. While one bull died during the event in Pudukkottai, a bull owner and his bull died at Siravayal manjuvirattu in Sivaganga, the police said.

At the manjuvirattu in Siravayal in Sivaganga district, Thaneesh Raja of Naduvikottai Keela Aavandhipatti village, who brought his bull to take part in the event died along with his bull after the animal fell into a farm well at Kambanur while running away from the arena.

Both Raja and his bull drowned when he jumped into the well to get hold of the animal. About 130 people were injured in the manjuvirattu in which 150 baiters and 250 bulls participated. A spectator Subbaiah of Devakottai was gored by a bull and he died on the way to hospital.

A 55-year-old spectator P Periyasamy of Mettupatti village near Vadipatti, was gored in the neck by a raging bull in Alanganallur in Madurai where atleast 70 people, mostly spectators sustained injuries, police said. Periyasamy was declared brought dead at the Rajaji Government Hospital, Madurai.

Two spectators were gored to death and 148 persons including bull owners, and tamers were injured in four separate jallikattu events in Tiruchirappalli, Karur, and Pudukottai districts.

A 60-year-old spectator, Kulanthaivelu, from Samuthram near Kuzhumani in Karur district, was gored to death at the jallikattu events in RT Malai

Police said a 70-year-old spectator identified as C Perumal of Odugampatti near Keeranur was gored to death in the Mahadeva Patti jallikattu in Pudukottai district where 607 bulls and 300 tamers participated. Ten persons including tamers and spectators were injured.

About 19 persons were injured in the Vanniyan Viduthi jallikattu in Pudukottai district.

A 30-year-old man died in an 'eruthu vidum vizha' event, a kind of bull race conducted at Basthalapalli in Krishnagiri district, while a 45-year-old man died after being attacked by a bull in the Sentharapatti in Salem district, police said.

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Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A local court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his mentally challenged wife by repeatedly electrocuting her while she was tied to a cot, lawyers said on Thursday.

Additional district government counsel Harendra Singh Rathore said Additional Sessions Judge Avinash Kumar Singh on Wednesday convicted Vinod Kumar (45) for killing his wife, Satyavati, in Chaina village of Bareilly district and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.

According to the prosecution, he was allegedly frustrated with his wife Satyavati's mental illness and often assaulted her.

Rathore said the prosecution examined nine witnesses to establish the charges against him.

As per court records, on the night of May 1-2, 2022, when Satyavati was asleep, Vinod tied her hands and legs to a cot using ropes and then connected an aluminium cable to an electric board to repeatedly administer electric shocks to her.

"She writhed in pain, but the accused continued to electrocute her until she died," the prosecution said.

The court observed that the murder was carried out in an inhuman manner.

After committing the crime, the accused threw the rope and cable on the roof and left for work at a brick kiln around 2 am to create a false alibi.

He later tried to mislead the police and the victim's family by claiming that Satyavati, whose mental condition was unstable, had accidentally died by suicide after grabbing a live electric wire.

However, the victim's brother, Sanjeev, a resident of Shahjahanpur district, suspected foul play and lodged an FIR under sections 498A (husband subjecting wife to cruelty) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Nawabganj police station.

During the trial, the prosecution relied on the post-mortem report prepared by Dr Faraz Anwar, who stated that multiple electrocution marks found on different parts of the victim's body could not have been self-inflicted.

The police also recovered the rope and electric wire used in the crime on the accused's identification, officials said.