Man Dies After Eating Venomous Snake That Bit Him

A man from India died of intoxication after chewing a snake that bit him.

The man, identified as 65-year-old Rama Mahto, of Bihar’s Nalanda district was bitten by a venomous snake on Saturday, August 7.

According to a report by Dainik Jagran, Madhopur Panchayat Advisory Committee President Bhushan Prasad said that Mahto was returning from the market when the snake bit him.

In a fit of rage, Mahto grabbed the reptile and began chewing it leading to several injuries on his face, especially the mouth, the report said.

After the bizarre act, Mahto left the snake on the branch of a tree near his house and went to sleep.

Mahto reportedly refused when his relatives asked him to seek medical attention.

However, on Sunday, Mahto's family members found him lying unresponsive on his bed. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The Bihar Police has registered a case of death due to snakebite.

In a similar incident, a 50-year-old man was seen on a viral video eating a poisonous snake claiming that it would keep Covid-19 at bay.

Vadivelu, an agricultural worker from Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district, has been arrested after the video caught the attention of the concerned authorities.

In the video, Vadivelu is seen ripping the dead reptile into two and then eating chunks of its flesh. He claimed that snakes are good antidotes to coronavirus and that is why he was eating one.

"It keeps Covid at bay," Vadivelu can be heard saying. He was reportedly in an inebriated state.

According to local media, the viral video was shot by Vadivelu's friends who dared him to pick up the dead snake from drainage and eat it. They even allegedly instigated him to say that eating snakes can prevent Covid-19.

Luckily, Vadivelu managed to survive the incident.

"He was lucky that he did not bite into the venom glands of the snake which was a common krait," Madurai S Ananda, the district forest officer said. "The common krait contains neurotoxins that can paralyze a human being."

Environmentalists who came across the massively shared video alerted the state's forest department about the crime. Vadivelu was soon arrested from his home. He was fined 7,500 rupees (104 USD) and released.