Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Dindori district arrested two men on Friday after a crude hunting explosive disguised as a sweet detonated in the mouth of a 35-year-old villager, causing fatal injuries.
Rajendra Barautiya died at a local hospital shortly after biting into the dough-wrapped device on Tuesday night. He had no warning. What looked like a soft dessert was a lethal animal trap packed with gunpowder.
The incident occurred during an ordinary evening gathering around a winter bonfire. Barautiya was sitting with neighbours when another villager arrived carrying the disguised explosive. A second villager, identified by police as Ramabhagat Barautiya, took the sphere and handed it directly to the victim, describing it as a rasgulla—a round, syrup-soaked traditional sweet typically eaten whole.
Barautiya bit into it. The pressure triggered the explosive core instantly.
The blast tore through his mouth and face, inflicting critical internal and facial trauma. Panicked villagers rushed the 35-year-old to a nearby medical facility, but attending doctors could not stabilize him. He succumbed to his wounds hours later.
Local police officials confirmed that the device was an improvised bait bomb, a crude mechanism fabricated by some rural and tribal communities in the region to target wild boars. Poachers and farmers construct the traps by kneading balls of flour or dough around explosive mixtures—frequently scavenged from commercial firecrackers or nearby stone-mining quarries—designed to detonate under the bite pressure of foraging wildlife.
The bomb, used by some tribal people in the area to kill wild boars, was offered to this man. It exploded in his mouth. We don't know if the motive was to kill, or if it was a mischief. That is a matter of investigation.
Rekha Singh, Police Officer, Dindori
Following Barautiya’s death, Dindori Police took two suspects into custody, including Ramabhagat Barautiya. Both face charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the penal code as investigators reconstruct the chain of custody behind the explosive.
| Case Parameter | Official Status |
|---|---|
| Victim | Rajendra Barautiya (35) |
| Location | Dindori District, Madhya Pradesh |
| Key Suspect Named | Ramabhagat Barautiya |
| Arrests Recorded | 2 suspects detained |
| Statutory Charges | Culpable homicide not amounting to murder |
| Weapon/Device | Crude bait explosive packed with quarry or firecracker powder |
Police teams are questioning both arrested suspects to determine who manufactured the dough bomb, where the explosive powder was procured, and whether personal enmity motivated the handover. Investigators plan to produce both accused individuals before a local magistrate for formal remand hearings in the coming days.
| Primary Motive |
| Under active investigation (Deliberate intent vs. reckless mischief) |