In Madhya Pradesh’s Junnardeo area, a bag of sweets poisoned with arsenic-laced horse medicine was left near a tea stall in early January, resulting in the deaths of three people, including two relatives, and the poisoning of two others. Forensic tests revealed arsenic levels in the sweets were over 23,000 times the safe limit. The victims included a young mother, Khushbu Kachuria, her grandfather Sundarlal, and a watchman who first consumed the sweets. The police investigation uncovered that the poisonings were part of a family conspiracy driven by accusations of abuse and fears of damaged reputations.

Authorities arrested three family members—Khushbu’s father-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law—who allegedly plotted the attack after Khushbu refused to return to her marital home amid harassment claims. The trio reportedly mixed the arsenic-containing horse medicine into sweets, left them near the tea stall, and intended to eliminate Khushbu and her family to silence her allegations. The case is being prosecuted under charges of murder, attempted murder, and criminal conspiracy.