A dairy farmer’s cow, whose mouth was blown off when it accidentally chewed a country-made explosive, died after five days of suffering near Mettupalayam in Coimbatore district on Monday morning.
The cow was unable to consume fodder or drink water after the crude explosive, locally called ‘avittukai’, exploded in its mouth while grazing in a field on Wednesday.
The explosive, which is usually laid as a bait in farms adjoining forests to hunt wild boar, was believed to have been wrapped with an eatable which made the cow bite it.
Muhammed Jafar Ali, a dairy farmer from Chengal Padugai near Kallar, said the dead cow was among six others that he depended on for income.
“The cow was left in my field for grazing on Wednesday morning. It used to wander around the field and vacant lands for grazing. It did not return on Wednesday. On Saturday, I found the cow with its mouth blown off. It has a calf,” he said.
A photo of the injured cow suckling its calf was widely circulated on social media.
Mr. Ali said that he informed officials of Mettupalayam forest range about the incident as the place falls under its limit.
However, according to Mr. Ali, Forest Department staff repeatedly questioned him whether he laid the crude explosive.
“How could I do that, risking the lives of my family and cows?” he lamented.
Though the farmer lodged a complaint with the Mettupalayam police in connection with the incident on Sunday, the police were yet to register a case.
The Forest Department has registered a case under provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. The investigation is under way.
A Forest Department official said that the farmer was not eligible for compensation from the department as the cow did not die in the attack of a wild animal.