Man dies after explosive presented as a sweet detonates in Dindori; two arrested

A 35-year-old man from Dindori district in Madhya Pradesh died after an object presented to him as a rasgulla exploded when he tried to eat it. Police allege that a neighbour and friend gave him an explosive associated with wild-boar hunting, passing it off as a sweet. Two people have been arrested, and the investigation continues.

The incident occurred on the evening of November 10 in Padariya Chhanta village, within the Dindori Kotwali police station area. The injured man was taken to Dindori district hospital, where he died while receiving treatment.

A family evening interrupted

According to station officer Durga Prasad Nagpure, the man had been sitting in his courtyard with his wife, child and grandmother, keeping warm. The neighbour joined them, and police described the conversation at that point as ordinary and light-hearted.

Police said the neighbour handed him a small round object, called it a rasgulla and encouraged him to eat it. His wife said it had been offered in connection with Diwali and that it exploded almost immediately after he put it in his mouth and bit it.

His wife described being unable to understand what was happening as the blast caused devastating injuries to his jaw and face. Family members took him to hospital in an auto-rickshaw, but doctors could not save him. His body was returned to the family after a post-mortem examination the following day.

She said the object her husband bit was an explosive of a kind used to kill animals. His death has left her and their child facing the loss of his support. Her account describes what she experienced; responsibility for the incident remains under investigation.

Two arrests and questions about the object's origin

The two arrested people are the neighbour alleged to have handed over the object and another person said to have found it in a forest. Police said the second person passed it to the neighbour, who then presented it to the victim as a sweet. Investigators are examining where it came from and who left it in the forest.

Nagpure said both suspects were in custody. Preliminary inquiries had found no evidence of a previous feud or dispute between the victim and the arrested people. The absence of such evidence so far does not establish a final explanation for the incident.

The danger and the forensic inquiry

Explosive devices associated with wild-boar hunting are reported in rural parts of central India. They can be concealed in food and cause fatal injuries to animals or people who come into contact with them. Indore-based explosives expert Sharad Sarwate said pressure can trigger such devices and cause severe injuries around the mouth. Their behaviour depends on the materials involved.

Sarwate said the devices discussed in the report were small and could still inflict fatal injuries. His general description is not evidence that investigators have already identified the recovered material.

Dindori police collected samples at the scene, including remnants of the explosive. Nagpure said they would be sent to a forensic laboratory for further examination. The investigation into the material and the circumstances of the death was still open.