Chennai, Apr 17 (IANS): Tamil Nadu police has booked seven persons of Mooduvarpatti village in Madurai district for violating the curfew and participating in the burial of a temple bull that won several prizes in the Jallikattu bull taming sport.

The police also said two local cops have been transferred on Thursday in this connection as large number of villagers had participated in the bull's funeral.

"It was a temple bull and died of old age. It is the custom for the villagers to do `pooja' and bury when a temple bull dies. This bull is said to have won prizes in Jallikattu events and was very popular among the villagers there," P. Rajasekharan, President, Jallikattu Paadukappu Peravai told IANS.

Temple bulls are allowed to roam freely and are not kept tied.

A police official in Madurai told IANS police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) naming seven persons and several unnamed persons.

It is learnt, the 10-year old bull fell sick last week and later died on Sunday.

Several villagers paid homage to the dead bull and it was taken around the village in a procession in which several persons participated. Later the body of the bull was buried.

The funeral ceremony and the procession was uploaded on social media resulting in police action and two cops getting transferred.

Tamil Nadu is under lockdown due to the spread of coronavirus and as per regulations very close relatives of deceased people can participate in the funerals.

Police said initially about 30 persons had participated in the bull funeral ceremony but later the crowd grew in large numbers.