A young man in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district reportedly bit a cobra after it bit him, believing the act would neutralise its venom. Dharamsingh Khadia was on his way to his fields in Karmapada village under Laikera police station when he accidentally stepped on the snake. The cobra raised its hood and bit him. Instead of moving away, Dharamsingh caught the snake and allegedly bit its hood with his teeth, causing it to die.
Reportedly, Dharamsingh later said someone had told him that biting a snake back after being bitten could neutralise its venom. Acting on the Odisha village belief, he attacked the cobra. His condition, however, soon deteriorated and his family rushed him to Govindpur Hospital, where treatment was started.
Odisha snakebite case exposes dangerous belief about venom
The recent Odisha case has highlighted once more certain myths about snake bites that are very harmful. Hunting, attacking or killing snakes after being bitten by them may pose an additional danger for the victim and delay his treatment.
A similar case was reported in Bihar in July 2024. Labourer Santosh Lohar was bitten twice by a snake while sleeping at a railway project camp in Rajouli, Nawada. He grabbed the snake with an iron rod and bit it three times, killing it. He said, “In my village, there’s a belief that if a snake bites you, you must bite it back twice to neutralize the venom.”
Odisha has seen another bizarre snakebite response
As per reports, in August 2021, 45-year-old Kishore Badra of Jajpur, Odisha, also bit a snake after it bit his leg while he was returning from a paddy field. He said he identified it as a poisonous krait, caught it and bit it repeatedly to kill it. He then visited a traditional healer instead of a hospital.
Another Odisha case emerged in March 2025 when Ajit Karmakar reached hospital carrying a dead cobra after being bitten three or four times. Doctors identified the snake and administered treatment after finding fang marks and other symptoms.
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Khalid Lateef is a Sub-Editor at NewsX Digital, specializing in Indian politics and global affairs. He also covers viral trending stories and major crime developments.
