A teenager died and another person sustained injuries when their explosives-filled backpack exploded in a road accident while they were on their animal-hunting mission in Khanapur taluk in Belagavi district on Wednesday.
The police said that deceased 17-year-old Girish Rajput and injured Shivakumar Rajput, 31, from seminomadic Hakki-Pikki tribe of Shivamogga district, had been camping in the deep forests of Khanapur for three months to hunt wild boar for meat trading, reported The Times of India.
The duo was riding on a bike into the forest with 30 explosive balls in the bag when they crashed into a tractor that ran over the pillion rider, Girish, triggering off quick explosions The blasts blew his body into pieces.
The police have booked Shivakumar under the Arms Act, but haven’t taken him into custody since he is undergoing treatment in hospital. The police said that trading in wild meat is illegal and rampant. They also said that many poachers have been frequently visiting Ramadurga, Khanapur, Bhimgad and other forest ranges in this region to hunt boars by luring them with meat bombs.
Superintendent of Police, Laxman Nimbaragi said that hunters sneak into forested regions of Uttara Kannada and Belagavi districts in September when the paddy crop is up for harvesting. In the night, they make meat bombs using gunpowder and gelatin sticks and keep them for boars. When the animals fall for the bait, the bombs explode.
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