Sweet trap? Mystery pedas leave 3 dead in Madhya Pradesh; cops still clueless

BHOPAL: A box of pedas left surreptitiously outside a govt office in a small Madhya Pradesh town has unpacked a chilling mystery that has claimed three lives, leaving police grappling with unsettling questions: Who left the sweets? Were they poisoned? And if so, who was the intended target? The incident unfolded in Junnardeo town of Chhindwara district, where the unclaimed packet of pedas was found abandoned near the gate of PHE department (PHE) office on Jan 9. For hours, the box lay untouched — until curiosity, hunger and routine intersected with fatal consequences.

According to the police, PHE guard Dasaru Yadavanshi (50) first noticed the abandoned packet. On Jan 9 evening, he consumed some of the sweets and later hung the remaining packet at a tea stall located just outside the office gate. Within hours, he developed severe complications, including vomiting, loose motions and a sudden drop in blood pressure. He was rushed to a private hospital, where he died on Jan 11.


What followed was a macabre chain of deaths. Unaware of what had happened, Santoshi Kathuria, wife of tea stall owner Mukesh Kathuria, brought the remaining sweets home. There, she, her elderly father-in-law Sundarlal Kathuria (72), and her two daughters consumed the pedas the next day (Jan 10). Soon after, all four developed diarrhoea-like symptoms and were hospitalised.

Sundarlal died on Jan 13 at Chhindwara district hospital. A day later, the family’s 22-year-old daughter, Khushboo, succumbed at AIIMSNagpur after a sudden and uncontrollable dip in blood pressure. Santoshi is still in hospital, while the younger daughter was discharged after preliminary treatment.

The cops admitted they were navigating uncharted territory. Even more puzzling is the absence of CCTV cameras near the spot where the packet was abandoned. Police are now scanning footage from surrounding areas to identify the person who left the deadly box behind.