Cow’s jaw damaged after eating explosives wrapped food in Andhra’s Chittoor

A cow’s jaw was badly injured after it ate a ball of explosive material wrapped in edible substance in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor.

The incident comes close on the heels of the death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala’s Palakkad district after it ate a pineapple filled with firecrackers.

According to the police, the incident took place at Kogileru village of Peda Panjani block on Saturday evening. “A cow belonging to the local goshala (cowshed), which was being grazed in the nearby forest area, ate a ball of explosive material wrapped in some edible substance accidentally. And it exploded in the cow’s mouth,” Peda Panjani police inspector Chitreddy Lokesh Reddy told Hindustan Times.

Due to the impact of the explosion, the lower jaw of the cow got ripped off. On hearing the loud noise, local cattle grazers rushed there and moved the cow to the goshala, where it was given first aid.

“On Sunday, we shifted the cow to government veterinary hospital in Tirupati, where a surgery would be performed on Monday evening,” the inspector said.

Arjun Reddy, caretaker of “Gow-Matha Peetham,” said the injured cow was in a very bad condition, as its lower jaw had completely come off. “We are not sure whether we can restore the jaw back to its normal position through surgery. As of now, the cow is alive and is surviving on intravenous fluids. We don’t know whether it will come back to the position of eating grass again,” he said.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the explosive, made of sulphur and other material, covered in an edible substance, was placed by some hunters to trap wild boars. “We have identified a few suspected hunters of the nearby villages and are questioning them,” Lokesh Reddy said.

The police filed cases 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.

Arjun Reddy said there were in all 17 cows in his shed. “They all belong to the popular Punganur breed of Chittoor, known for their rich nutritious milk. We have been protecting these animals with a lot of reverence and care,” he said.

He said generally, these cows were taken to the nearby forests for grazing as the area was known for medicinal plants. “The explosive was covered with wheat flour or other bakery stuff like ajinomoto that smells nice to attract animals,” the goshala caretaker said.

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