The discovery of an unclaimed bag of sweets outside a Public Health Engineering (PHE) office in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara has triggered a chilling mystery that has claimed three lives and left two others hospitalised. What initially appeared to be a case of food poisoning is now being investigated as a potential targeted poisoning.
Since January 11, three people-a security guard, a 72-year-old man, and a 22-year-old woman-have died after consuming the sweets. The latest victim, Khushboo Kathuria (22), passed away on Wednesday morning at AIIMS-Nagpur. Doctors confirmed she suffered a rapid, uncontrollable drop in blood pressure followed by multi-organ failure. Her death brings the toll to three in an incident investigators describe as one of the most disturbing in the district's recent history.
The sequence of events began on January 9, when an abandoned bag was found outside the PHE office. Inside were raw vegetables and a box of pedas garnished with cashews. When no one claimed the bag, PHE security guard Dasaru Yaduvanshi (50) took it home. He shared the sweets with Sundar Lal Kathuria (72), Sundar Lal's wife Santoshi Bai, and their granddaughter Khushboo at the family's nearby tea stall.
Within hours of consuming the sweets, all those who ate them began experiencing vomiting, loose motions and a sudden and severe fall in blood pressure. Dasaru Yaduvanshi was the first to die on January 11 at a private hospital. Two days later, on Tuesday morning, Sundar Lal Kathuria died at the Chhindwara District Hospital. Khushboo, who initially appeared to be recovering, suddenly deteriorated on Tuesday evening and was referred to AIIMS-Nagpur, where she died at 6:30 am on Wednesday.
Confirming her death, Junnardeo police station in-charge Rakesh Baghel said that Khushboo's autopsy would be conducted at AIIMS-Nagpur later in the day. "Khushboo had shown signs of recovery till Tuesday morning, but her condition deteriorated suddenly since Tuesday evening, particularly following a sudden and uncontrolled dip in blood pressure," he said. He added that while Dasaru Yaduvanshi's family did not consent to an autopsy on January 11, Sundar Lal Kathuria's post-mortem conducted on January 13 did not mention any conclusive cause of death, after which viscera samples and samples of the sweets were preserved and sent to the state forensic laboratory for detailed testing.
Khushboo's mother, Santoshi Kathuria, is currently admitted at the Chhindwara District Hospital and is stated to be out of danger, though she remains under continuous medical monitoring. Khushboo's sister, who had also consumed the sweets, was discharged after preliminary treatment.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Ashish Khare said that while the case initially appeared to be simple food poisoning, that assumption is now being reassessed. "Initially, it seemed that some sweets might have been spoiled, and people consumed them, leading to illness and death due to infection. But the box had no identification marks, so we could not trace the source. Now it does not appear to be a simple case. We are investigating from all angles, including whether there is a personal angle or if someone intentionally committed this act or tampered with the sweets," he said.
Sources associated with the investigation said that targeted poisoning cannot be ruled out, but it remains unclear whether the victims were the intended targets. They also pointed out that the cashew-decorated pedas found in the bag do not match the type of sweets sold in any shop in Junnardeo or neighbouring areas of Chhindwara district, raising further suspicion about their origin.
Adding another disturbing layer to the case, Khushboo's sister Shraddha Kathuria alleged that Khushboo had a troubled personal life following a love marriage and had returned to her parents' home with her three-month-old child one and a half to two months ago due to alleged harassment by her in-laws. "They ate the sweets thinking it was prasad. My elder sister's father-in-law is under suspicion. She was beaten a lot by her in-laws, and they had threatened to kill her if she spoke. She had been living with us for the last one and a half to two months," Shraddha said.
The Kathuria family, which has now lost two members, runs a tea stall near the PHE office the same location where the abandoned bag was found. Investigators are now examining whether the placement of the bag was random or deliberate, and whether it was meant for someone specific.
