In a heartbreaking incident, a jackal in the city of Tamil Nadu's Trichy died after a country bomb covered in animal meat exploded in its mouth. The incident comes just days after similar killings of an elephant in Kerala and a cow in Himachal Pradesh.

The accused in the case, identified as identified as K Ramaraj, 21, I Saravanan, 25, R Yesudas, 34, R Sarath Kumar, 28, S Devadass, 41, R Pandian, 31, S Vijay Kumar, 38, A Sathyamurthy, 36, V Sarath Kumar, 26, P Raju, 45, M Pattampillai, 78 and P Rajamanickam, 70, have been arrested and remanded in judicial custody. According to a report, a police constable allegedly found the 12 men outside at a tea shop near the Mekkudi village carrying the carcass of the jackal. They were brought to the police station immediately, where they confessed to the crime. According to the report, a senior police officer stated, "The accused had set the bomb in the Jeeyapuram forest as a bait for the jackal. As soon as the jackal bit the bait assuming it to be a prey, the bomb exploded, killing it on the spot."

The accused apparently killed the animal in order to acquire its meat and teeth. "The group of miscreants went for honey harvesting to a village. While returning, they spotted the presence of a jackal roaming around. So in an attempt to hunt it down, the accused used country-made bombs and blew its jaw off," a senior forest official reportedly said.