Chennai, Jun 11 (IANS): 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 Trichirappalli district, said police.

The police have arrested three persons in this connection. 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 way to the hospital and fearing 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.

Recently, Tamil Nadu Forest Department had arrested 12 gypsies 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 gypsies had packed explosives inside meat pieces and strewn them at several places that the jackal frequents.

Recently in Kerala, a pregnant elephant was killed when it ate fruit packed with explosives, provoking nationwide outrage.