The snake had bitten Ramesh Kumar Jamda, gardener of the park, when he was removing weeds, an Oriya news paper reported on Sunday. A furious Jamda then caught hold of the snake and chewed parts of its body and swallowed the flesh.

Jamda then fell unconscious and was taken by other park employees to a local hospital. While the snake died on the spot, Jamda managed to survive after treatment, the paper said.

“I was very angry when the snake bit me on my finger. I chewed parts of its body to take revenge,” Jamda was quoted as saying. The paper has not said if the snake was a poisonous one.