Revenge in sweet box: How cops unraveled mystery pedas that killed 3 in Madhya Pradesh over humiliation; in-laws held

BHOPAL: The spine-chilling deaths of three people over a fortnight ago in MP’s Chhindwara, after eating arsenic-laced pedas from a gift-wrapped box left near a roadside tea stall, left locals and police grappling with an eerie mystery.

On Sunday, the puzzle unravelled into a grim tale of humiliation, revenge and family discord with the arrest of three suspects — members of one of the victims’ in-laws’ family — for allegedly plotting the crime.


Cops said the pedas that led to the death of Khushbu were placed at a tea stall by her father-in-law Jhadu Kasar, brother-in-law Shubham and sister-in-law Shivani.

They allegedly acted after Khushbu left her husband following a dispute and began living with her parents. Police clarified her husband was unaware of the plot.

The box was left at the tea stall run by Khushbu’s father, who took it home. While Khushbu and her grandfather died after consuming the pedas, the third victim was a guard at a PHE office who ate the sweets.

Cops said Khushbu married in 2023 and returned to her father’s house on Dec 3, 2025, after differences with her in-laws. “After coming back, she was allegedly speaking ill about her in-laws. Feeling humiliated, they decided to take revenge,” he said.