Man dies after eating crude bomb disguised as traditional Indian sweet

An Indian man died after a crude bomb disguised as a traditional sweet exploded in his mouth, police said Friday.

Some rural communities use the homemade devices to kill wild boars by packing balls of dough with gunpowder, often sourced from firecrackers or quarries. According to the Economic Times, the devices are designed to explode when an animal bites them.

But they also resemble a common Indian dessert called rasgulla, a soft, round sweet soaked in sugar syrup — and traditionally eaten whole.

The dead man was identified as 35-year-old Rajendra Barautiya.

He was gathered around a bonfire on Tuesday in Dindori district, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, when a fellow villager brought the “sweet” and another gave it to him.

“The bomb, used by some tribal people in the area to kill wild boars, was offered to this man,” police officer Rekha Singh told AFP. “It exploded in his mouth.”

Barautiya was rushed to hospital with severe injuries but died.

The villager who handed him the sweet was identified by police as Ramabhagat Barautiya, who described it as a rasgulla, the New Indian Express reported.

“The incident has triggered widespread shock and fear in the village, with residents struggling to comprehend how a casual evening conversation ended in such a tragic manner,” the outlet said.

Two men have been arrested and charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

“We don’t know if the motive was to kill, or if it was a mischief,” Singh added. “That is a matter of investigation.”