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An Indian man died Tuesday after eating an explosive that was disguised as a sweet dessert dumpling.
The 35-year-old victim, Rajendra Barautiya, had finished eating dinner with his family and was sitting by a bonfire outside his home when a neighbor handed him what appeared to be a rasgulla — a popular sweet made from cottage cheese, according to India Today.
The supposed traditional treat was actually a ball of cheese dough filled with gunpowder, which is a trick used by villagers in Madhya Pradesh’s Dindori district to kill wild boars.
The bomb instantly detonated when Barautiya put it in his mouth, cops said.
“The bomb, used by some tribal people in the area to kill wild boars, was offered to this man,” police officer Rekha Singh told the AFP wire service. “It exploded in his mouth.”
Barautiya reportedly suffered severe injuries from the explosion and was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A homicide case against the neighbor, Ram Bhagat Barotiya, and another man was pending and officials were looking into how he obtained the crude bomb and why he offered it to Rajendra, according to reports.
“We do not know whether the intention was to kill him or whether it was a malicious prank. That will be determined during the investigation,” Singh said.
