Indian man killed after eating 'sweet' bomb

Some rural communities use the homemade devices to kill wild boars by packing balls of dough with gunpowder, often sourced from firecrackers or quarries.

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 Rajendra Barautiya, 35.

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.

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."