The Haripad police have arrested eight people for attacking rowers of the Pallathuruthy Boat Club (PBC/Tropical Titans) after the Champions Boat League (CBL) race held at Karuvatta on October 28.
The arrested have been booked for attempted murder. The police earlier registered a case against 12 people who could be identified.
According to the police, the accused had placed a bet of ₹1 lakh in favour of the PBC winning the Karuvatta boat race. However, Veeyapuram Chundan (snakeboat) rowed by the PBC, reigning CBL champions, could only finish second in the race. Enraged by the club’s failure to win the race, the group wrongfully accused the club of deliberately losing the race. They first taunted the rowers and later attacked the club’s temporary camp at S.N. Kavala, the police said.
The attack left nine rowers injured. The ninth race of the CBL Season 3 will be held at Kayamkulam on November 18.