Cow who ate ball of explosives in Andhra Pradesh dies, 3 arrested

Peda Panjani police sub-inspector Chitreddy Lokesh Reddy said the police had arrested three hunters, including two from Kogileru village and remanded them in judicial custody on Tuesday.

The cow, Laxmi, which ate a ball of explosives wrapped in some food stuff at Kogileru village of Ped Panjani block in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district on Saturday evening, died in the early hours of Wednesday. It was cremated according to Hindu rituals.

The hunter had planted the explosive wrapped in some food stuff made of flour in the grass closer to the adjacent forest area in order to kill wild boars. The cow which was being grazed in the area ate it accidentally and it exploded in her mouth. (HT photo)

In a similar incident, a pregnant wild elephant in Kerala died two weeks after consuming a pineapple filled with firecrackers. The cow in Chittoor suffered from infection for more than three days before it died.

“The post-mortem report revealed that infection caused by the explosion of the crude bomb in Lakshmi’s mouth spread to the entire body. There were blood clots in several parts of the body,” Arjun Reddy, caretaker of “Gow-Matha Peetham,” a cow shelter with 17 cows.

Peda Panjani police sub-inspector Chitreddy Lokesh Reddy said the police had arrested three hunters, including two from Kogileru village and remanded them in judicial custody on Tuesday.

The police had booked cases against the accused under Sections 286 (negligent conduct in using explosives) and 429 (mischief by killing or maiming cattle) of Indian Penal Code, Section 11 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960 and Section 9 (B)(1) of the Explosives Act.

The hunter had planted the explosive wrapped in some food stuff made of flour in the grass closer to the adjacent forest area in order to kill wild boars. The cow which was being grazed in the area ate it accidentally and it exploded in her mouth.

Due to its impact, the lower jaw of the cow got ripped off. Doctors at the government veterinary hospital in Tirupati tried to restore the jaw by conducting a surgery on Monday evening, but they failed because the jaw was completely broken.

“We brought Lakshmi back to the cow shelter on Tuesday and administered intravenous fluids. But it collapsed later in the night and died in the early hours of Wednesday,” Arjun Reddy said.

Arjun Reddy, along with the villagers, conducted Lakshmi’s funeral as per Hindu rituals, similar to the ones performed for dead human beings. “We are planning to construct a Samadhi for the cow in the same place where she died and develop it as Lakshmi Ghat with a beautiful garden around it,” Reddy added.