The rooster, with a knife tied to its leg, fluttered in panic and slashed its owner, 45-year-old Thangulla Satish, in his groin last week, police inspector B Jeevan said on Sunday.

The incident occurred in Lothunur village of Telangana state.

Satish was injured while he prepared the rooster for a fight. "Satish was hit by the rooster's knife in his groin and started bleeding heavily," Jeevan said, adding the man died on the way to a hospital.

He said police were looking for more than a dozen people involved in organising the cockfight. If proven guilty, the organisers face up to two years jail.

Cockfights are common in the southern Indian states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka despite a countrywide ban imposed in 1960.

The illegal practice is mainly organised as part of Hindu festivals usually attended by hundreds of people, though the crowds sometimes swell to thousands.

The cockfights are often held under the watch of local politicians and involve large sums of betting money.

According to police, the rooster involved in last week's incident was among many other roosters prepared for the cockfight betting festival in Lothunur village.

Jeevan said the rooster was brought to the police station before being taken to a local poultry farm. "We may need to produce it before the court," he said.

Australian Associated Press