July 10, 23

NEWS / Indian death certificate lists “flying cow” as cause of death

A truly bizarre incident occurred in the northwest Indian state of Rajastan. An 82-year old man got killed by the body of a cow that had been flung into the air after getting hit by a train. The man’s death certificate therefore lists “flying cow” as the cause of his death. The man, Shivdayal Sharma, was a retired electrician, who had previously worked for Indian Railways. Feeling the urge to urinate, he made it to a secluded spot next the railroad, and began relieving himself. At the same time, a Vande Bharat train, traveling at a speed of 160 kilometer per hour (about 100 miles per hour) slammed into a stray cow that walked onto the railroad track, completely oblivious to the danger. The cow then flew through the air for 30 meters (about 98 feet) before fatally striking Sharma. Another person standing nearby narrowly avoided getting bashed by the bovine. The incident occurred on April 18, 2023, at around 8 pm. The Government Railway Police (GRP) took Sharma’s body to the mortuary of the general hospital. His body was handed over to his relatives the next day. With cows being a sacred animal in Hinduism, they are often seem roaming the streets of Indian cities and countryside. Other cows have previously been hit by trains, with the largest number of such incidents reported in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.