45 injured in Banni Utsav stick fight festival in Andhra's Kurnool

Around 45 people were injured in violence during Banni Utsav fight, an ancient ritual practiced among villagers in Kurnool district on the eve of Dussehra, police said.

"Around 45 people were injured in the banni fight in Kurnool," said Vinod Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Kurnool.

"The injured were rushed to a hospital in Adoni," he added.

At a Dussehra procession of Devaragattu Mala Malleshwaraswamy in Holagunda Mandal in Kurnool on Friday devotes from different sides of villages face each other with sticks during the festival.

Devotees from Neraniki, Neraniki Tanda and Kottapeta villages were on one side and devotees of Arikera, Arikeratanda, Suluvai, Ellarthi, Kurukunda, Bilehall, Virupapuram were on another.

( With inputs from ANI )

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