Man turns cobra on self in suicide attempt

 A man in one of the villages on the outskirts of the city turned to the reptile, in what is thought to be a novel way of committing suicide.

Prachanda Das used to be a snake charmer. A resident of Padmakesharipur (formerly known as snake charmer’s village) Das got a bite from a poisonous snake he captured a few days back. However, he had to settle for a failed suicide attempt, as the villagers, aided by his wife, brought him to hospital on time and saved his life.

Deadly circumstance

Following a fight with his wife, Das, inebriated, retrieved the captured cobra from a box at home and offered his hand for the snake to bite.

Das lost consciousness after taking a few bites from the cobra. His stunned wife called for help from other villagers, who rushed him to the government run capital hospital, where doctors saved his life administering drugs to neutralise the venom.

While Das continues to recover at the hospital, the incident sparked widespread outrage from activists who feared the snake charmer might have unwittingly set a precedence for others with suicidal tendency.

While the local police is yet to register a case in the incident, Mallick said he rescued the cobra Das had used for his suicide attempt and released it in a nearby forest.