Tamil Nadu boy, 6, bites gelatine stick by mistake, killed

TRICHY: A gelatine stick went off in the mouth of a six-year-old boy killing him after he mistook it for an eatable and took a bite of it, in Alakarai village near Thottiyam on Tuesday night. Police have arrested three people and booked two others including the boy’s father in this connection.
Police said the deceased B Vishnu Dev was the son of Boopathi whose elder brother Gangadharan brought three gelatine sticks from the manager of a stone quarry near his village on Tuesday for fishing in the Cauvery. He along with his relatives Tamilarasan and Mohanraj went for fishing with two of the sticks, but left one behind at his house. Vishnu Dev visited Gangadharan’s house in the evening and, mistaking the stick for a snack, bit it when it exploded. The boy died on the way to the government hospital in Thottiyam.
The family chose to hide the incident from the police and cremated the body in the graveyard later in the night. However, deputy superintendent of police, Musiri division, K K SenthilKumar got information about the incident and police subsequently launched a probe on Wednesday. They arrested Gangadharan, Mohanraj and quarry manager Selvakumar who provided the gelatine while Boopathi and Tamilarasan are on the run.