Straying shepherd loses arm

PUNE, May 30: Dattu Yashvant Kotwal, a 35-year-old shepherd from Charholi, paid a heavy price for loitering near the firing range at Dighi while a firing exercise was on. He lost his right hand due to the splinters which struck him.

The bread-winner for his family of five, Dattu lay unconscious at the Sassoon hospital, unaware that his right hand has been amputated while the family members are worried about the future.

Dattu was grazing cattle near the Dighi magazine on Thursday when the splinters from a missile shot by some military personnel struck him, according to his elder brother Shivaji Kotwal. Shivaji said the splinters delivered serious injuries on Dattu8217;s right hand and left leg making it impossible to move. A seriously injured Dattu lay still in a pool of blood till somebody tipped off the Vishrantwadi police about the incident.