The incident happened in the village of Lothunur in Telangana state of southern India earlier this week, reports say,

The cockerel who is in police custody and being prepared to be taken to court had been fitted with a 7cm-long (three inches) knife for an illegal cockfight with which it stabbed its owner in the groin while attempting to escape. 

Reports say the man died on the way to the hospital from a loss of blood.

The 15 people who participated in the illegal activity before the unfortunate death of one of them are being tracked by the police to answer for the crime.

It is further reported that the cockerel was held at a police station before being transferred to a farm.

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Local police officer B Jeevan said the animal would be taken to court as evidence at a later date, according to The New Indian Express.

Cockfighting was made illegal in India in 1960 but fights are still relatively common in rural areas such as Telangana with many falling around the Hindu festival of Sankranti.

According to the BBC, it's not the first time an owner has been killed by their cockerel. Last year a man in Andhra Pradesh died after he was hit in the neck by a blade attached to his bird

According to CNN, the owner was taking his animal to a cockfight when the incident occurred.

Gauri Maulekhi, a trustee for India’s People for Animals Foundation, told CNN last year that “The offenses have been made very clear and explained to the district and state authorities, but they choose to turn a blind eye towards it.

It is not just for entertainment that these animals are made to fight, but it is (also) due to the heavy betting and gambling that goes on in the garb of these events.”