Police arrested suspects after the crude device, reportedly used to kill wild boars, was presented to the victim as a rasgulla.
DINDORI, India — A 35-year-old man died after a crude explosive presented to him as a traditional Indian sweet detonated as he ate it in a village in central India, police said, prompting arrests and an investigation into whether the deadly act was intentional.
Rajendra Barautiya was sitting with family members around a fire outside his home in Padariya Chhanta village in Madhya Pradesh’s Dindori district on the evening of Nov. 10 when another villager allegedly handed him a round object and told him it was a rasgulla, according to police accounts reported by Indian news organizations. The object was instead a crude explosive of a type authorities said is sometimes used to kill wild boars. Barautiya was taken to Dindori District Hospital after the blast and died during treatment.
Dindori Kotwali Inspector Durga Prasad Nagpure told The Indian Express that Ramabhagat Barautiya, a resident of the same neighborhood, came to the victim’s home while the family was warming itself around a fire. Police allege that during their conversation, Ramabhagat handed Rajendra the object while describing it as a rasgulla. It detonated when Rajendra bit into it. Authorities have not established why the device was allegedly given to him.
Early local reporting said police arrested Ramabhagat and registered a case under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which covers culpable homicide not amounting to murder, along with provisions of India’s Explosive Substances Act. Later reports citing police and Agence France-Presse said two men had been arrested in connection with the death. Authorities were continuing to investigate the roles of those detained and the source of the explosive.
Police said the crude device was similar to explosives sometimes used illegally to kill wild boars in rural areas. Such devices may be formed into round objects that can resemble food. Authorities said the explosive involved in Barautiya’s death had been presented as a rasgulla, a round Indian sweet commonly made from soft cheese curds and served in syrup. Investigators are examining how the device was obtained and why it was brought to the victim’s home.
The circumstances surrounding the incident remain a central focus of the investigation. Police officer Rekha Singh told Agence France-Presse that authorities had not determined whether the person who offered the explosive intended to kill Barautiya or whether the incident resulted from what she described as mischief. Police have therefore stopped short of publicly assigning a confirmed motive while the inquiry continues.
Local reports placed the incident at about 8 p.m., after Barautiya had eaten dinner with his family. Relatives took him to the district hospital after the explosion. The New Indian Express reported that a post-mortem examination was conducted the following day before his body was released to his family. Residents and relatives gathered outside the hospital as police continued their investigation.
The case drew wider attention after Indian media reported the unusual circumstances of the death, followed by international coverage. Police accounts have consistently identified Barautiya as the 35-year-old victim and described the object as a crude explosive associated with wild-boar hunting. Reports differ on some later procedural details, including the initial number of people arrested, with early local reporting describing one arrest and subsequent accounts saying two men had been detained.
Investigators are now trying to establish where the explosive came from, who was involved in obtaining it and why it was allegedly presented to Barautiya as food. Police have not announced a final motive, and the allegations against those detained have not been adjudicated in court.
Author note: Last updated November 14, 2026.