BENGALURU: Police launched a hunt for wild boar poachers who threw crude bombs stuffed in dough, which badly injured a buffalo after it tried to eat it. The mouth of the buffalo was ripped apart.
The poachers had thrown crude bombs in an effort to hunt down wild boars found in plenty in the outskirts of the city, off Bengaluru-Kanakapura Main Road. The buffalo sustained severe burns on Friday; it was the fourth incident in the last one year.
The incident happened at Yelagalli village at Uyyamballi around 5.30pm Friday.
D Govindappa, a 70-year-old resident of Uyyamballi, filed a complaint with Sathanur police against unidentified wild boar poachers.
Sampath, the complainant’s nephew, told TNIE the buffalo’s face was disfigured by the crude bomb exploding when it tried to eat it, assuming it to be dough.
“The accused had concealed dough in grass and thrown it in open fields. There was a huge explosion when all of us came out of the house. The village is close to the Sangama forest area and wild boar poachers throw explosives stuck with dough to hunt them.
This is the fourth incident in the last few months,” he added. It appears the accused had thrown the crude bomb made of gunpowder in an attempt to net the wild boar for its meat and skin. “Most wild boar poachers come from neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Even the handiwork of locals cannot be ruled out. Wild boars are in abundance as there are forests in a proximity of 2-3km,” said an officer.
A case was registered under Explosive Substances Act of 1908 against the unidentified accused.