Murders by snake bites are increasing in India

Ground Report | New Delhi: Murders by snake bites; Sooraj, 28, has been found guilty of killing his wife by the Kollam district court. He was accused of killing his wife by getting bitten by a snake in May last year. The judge said that this is the 'rarest of the rare case. Suraj is to be sentenced on Wednesday.

The crime branch had conducted a thorough investigation into the matter as the relatives of the deceased woman Uthara raised doubts about Sooraj's behaviour. According to the police, a few days after his wife's death, Sooraj tried to get properties registered in her name.

The police had said in the chargesheet that Suraj wanted to get rid of Uthara and after getting his money and gold wanted to marry someone else. According to the police, Suraj had tried to kill Uthara even once before for this.

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State Director General of Police Anil Kant welcomed the court's decision. He said that it was indeed a very unique case in which the accused was found guilty on the basis of circumstances. He told the media, "This is an example of how a murder case was solved by investigation in a scientific and professional manner." Kant congratulated his police officers who thoroughly examined the forensic evidence, fiber data and snake DNA.

Uthra murder case timeline

• March 2, 2020: Uthra was first bitten by a snake (viper) at her husband's house in Adoor.

• March 2 to April 22 - Uthra demanded treatment for snake bite at a private hospital in Thiruvalla.

• May 7, 2020: Uthra died of second snakebite (cobra) while she was sleeping at her home in Aanchal, Kollam, during treatment for the first snakebite.

• May 24, 2020: Her husband Sooraj is arrested on the basis of doubts raised by Uthra's family on her death.

• May 26, 2020: The postmortem of the snake that killed the snake is completed. The cobra was 152 centimeters long.

• July 4, 2020: Snakecatcher Suresh, the second accused, applies to become a government witness.

• July 14, 2020: Sooraj is brought to Uthra's house to collect evidence.

• August 14, 2020: Kollam Crime Branch (Rural Police) files 1,000-page chargesheet before Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Punalur.

• December 1, 2020: The hearing of the case begins.

• August 26, 2021: Investigators release video of a rare scientific test. The footage shows a real snake hitting a human dummy and a reptile hitting a moving object.

• October 11, 2021: Verdict delivered. Suraj found guilty by the court. (Murders by snake bites)

Murders by snake bites

Cases of killing snakes have increased rapidly in India. Last week, the Supreme Court had commented on one such case. Justice Surya Kant, during the hearing in a case in Rajasthan, had said, "It is a new trend that people bring poisonous snakes from a snake charmer and kill the person after getting bitten by it. It is increasing a lot in Rajasthan."

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This case is from the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, where three persons are accused of murder. One of the accused, Krishan Kumar's lawyer Aditya Choudhary, asked the court, "Is it possible that the accused may not even be found in the vicinity of the place where the crime took place, and yet he is guilty?"

Responding to Chaudhary, Justice Kant said that it is possible if the weapon is a snake. Apart from Justice Kant, this bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justice Hima Kohli rejected the bail application of Krishna Kumar. Kumar is alleged to have gone to the snake charmer with the main accused and bought a snake for ten thousand rupees. In 2019, this matter was in the headlines when a woman was accused of killing her daughter-in-law by getting her a snake bitten.

thousands of deaths every year

A report of the World Health Organization says that in India in the last two decades, more than one million people have died in India due to snake bites. According to the report, between 2000 and 2019, 1.2 million people died due to snake bites, that is, an average of 58,000 people annually. More than half of these people were between 30 and 69 years old.

Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Gujarat have more than 70 percent of the people who died due to snake bites. Such incidents have decreased after 2014. The World Health Organization aims to halve snakebite deaths worldwide by 2030. India is the biggest challenge for him in achieving this goal.

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