On Saturday (January 14) while Tamil people were celebrating the Pongal festival, a section of pro-Jallikattu activists were being involved in various forms of protests to remove the Supreme Court ban on the ancient bull-taming sport and conduct the event this year.

In Avaniyapuram a locality popular for Jallikattu event in Madurai, a group of supporters organised a protest. They resorted to sloganeering in support of Jallikattu and against PETA and the Indian Government as they felt the ruling establishment has not done enough to lift the Court ban on Jallikattu. The protests were lead by Tamil filmmaker Va.Gowthaman of 'Magzchi' fame who is a well-know activist for rights of Tamils

The Police personnel arrived at the place and requested the protesters to leave the place as they did not have the prior permission to organize the protest.

When the protesters refused, the Police applied force and arrested them.They also resorted to lathi charge and attacked the protest. Gowthaman was severely attacked as he resisted the Police action to disrupt the protest.

Many film industry celebrities including senior directors Bharathiraja and Vikraman have condemned the police violence against Gowthaman and the other pro-Jallikattu activists.