A five-member inquiry committee has been established in Madhya Pradesh’s Pandhurna district after a dead baby snake was discovered inside a sealed packet of nutritional supplements distributed through the government’s Anganwadi system. Acting Collector Agrim Kumar confirmed that the food sample has been officially seized by authorities and dispatched to the State Food Testing Centre in Bhopal for a comprehensive analysis. Local administration officials have urged the public to avoid spreading rumors while they await the definitive laboratory report.
The incident unfolded in the village of Karghat Kamthi when a pregnant recipient, Vachhala Bai Dhurve, returned home with a government-allotted packet of laddus intended as supplementary nutrition. Upon opening the package, her family discovered the dead snakelet before any of the food was consumed. The family immediately alerted local Anganwadi workers, prompting an emergency site visit by Nandanwadi police, the Naib Tehsildar, and Women and Child Development Department Project Officer Usha Pandre.
The alarming discovery has triggered widespread panic and anger across the region’s rural communities. Residents are demanding rigorous, regular quality checks of all state-supplied nutritional supplements alongside strict legal penalties against the packaging suppliers responsible for the lapse in contamination control.
