In a tragic incident, a six-year-old boy died after a gelatine stick exploded in his mouth as he thought it was a snack and bit into it near Tiruchirappalli district, said police. The police have arrested three persons in connection to this case.

According to Trichy police, the boy, B Vishnu Dev was the son of Bhoopathi. Bhoopathi's elder brother Gangadharan had bought three gelatine sticks from a stone quarry manager. The gelatine sticks were to be used for catching fish in the Cauvery river.

The boy had gone to Gangadharan's place on Tuesday and mistook the gelatine for a snack and bit it. The gelatine exploded in the boy's mouth, police said.

The boy died on the way to the Thottiyam hospital and fearing the police, the family cremated the body without informing the authorities.

However, on a tip-off, the police arrested Gangadharan, his friend Mohanraj and the stone quarry manager.

During the investigation, it was reportedly revealed that the men were using gelatin sticks to create small explosions to catch schools of fish and sell them. The fish reportedly die or fall unconscious and begin to float on the surface of the water after the explosion, making it easy to catch them. According to the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act, this is an illegal manner of catching fish.

The boy's father and other associates involved in this fishing practice are currently absconding and the police are on the lookout for them.

Recently, Tamil Nadu Forest Department had arrested 12 people for killing a jackal in a Trichy village by packing explosives in meat and blowing up its mouth when it took a bite.

The 12 men had gone to collect honey in a village and found a jackal roaming around. In order to hunt it for its meat and its teeth, the accused had packed explosives inside meat pieces and strewn them at several places that the jackal frequents.

In Kerala meanwhile, a pregnant elephant was killed when it ate a coconut packed with explosives, provoking nationwide outrage.

(With inputs from IANS)