Cachar man bitten to death by King cobra. 60 years old man, named Raghunandan Bhumji, lost his life after a King Cobra bites him. Raghunandan Bhumji was a resident of Bishnupur Village of Dholai’s Ranjangar GP.
On Sunday afternoon Bhumji saw a King Cobra in the paddy field The incident happened soon after Bhumji saw the snake and he rushed to catch it. According to the locals, the snake tried to escape but somehow Bhumji manage to get a hold of it.
After he caught the snake he started to roam the village, holding the snake, the snake was trying to escape the hold of Bhumji. People started to gather and also took videos of Bhumji. He started dancing with the snake and also irritating the snake frequently. While he was doing all of this, he was holding the snake inappropriately. After few moments the cobra ended up biting Bhumji and he lost his life. According to the locals they tried to bring an Ojha so that it can do some magic but unfortunately no good Ojha was found.
Divisional Forest Officer, Cachar, Tejas Mariswamy confirmed that the snake was indeed a King Cobra he also said that the paddy fields are good habitats for cobras. Mr. Tejas urges the people not to repeat such acts, he said that this kind of activity is not only dangerous but also an offense under the wildlife protection act. He also said that if any person spots any wildlife, one should immediately report to the nearest forest office.
Professor Parthankar Choudhury, Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University Silchar Said that, “Till date, all over the country, only 3-4 persons have died of King Cobra bite. This might be the first record of a king cobra bite from the northeast that has led to the death of the victim.
Researchers at Heroetofauna Conservation and Research Division, Wild Tripura Foundation and Wild Life Conservation Lab, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science were not impressed by the man’s behavior. They noted that Bhumji was holding the snake in a very dangerous way. They also said that the person around Bhumji should have held him back rather making a video of him.
As per the information given by the locals, the forest officers were informed after the bite and the snake has been rescued and relocated to the jungle.
