Centuries-Old Dasara Ritual Turns Deadly: One Killed, Over 100 Injured in Andhra Pradesh’s Devaragattu Stick Fight

A centuries-old Dasara tradition has once again turned deadly in southern India, where devotees armed with long bamboo sticks clashed during the annual Devaragattu Banni Festival near the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border.

A 50-year-old man, identified as Pothuraju from Allur village in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, was killed, while more than 100 people were injured during the ritual in the early hours of Thursday. Eight people sustained grievous injuries, and five of them are reportedly in critical condition.