Husband ‘uses a venomous COBRA to kill his wife and two-year-old daughter by releasing it into their bedroom as they slept’
- Suspicions arose after the husband’s father-in-law accused him of murder
An Indian man has been arrested for allegedly killing his wife and two-year-old daughter by releasing a poisonous cobra into their room.
The incident took place in Ganjam district of Odisha in Adheigaon village.
The 25-year-old man, identified as K Ganesh Patra, had a marital dispute with his wife K Basanti Patra, 23. They got married in 2020 and had a daughter named Debasmita.
According to NDTV, the man allegedly bought the cobra from a snake charmer, saying he would use it for religious purposes.
Ganesh told his neighbors that a snake entered his house and bit his wife and child (stock photo)
The 25-year-old man, identified as K Ganesh Patra (center in photo), had a marital dispute with his wife K Basanti Patra, 23
On October 6, Ganesh allegedly released the snake from a plastic pot in the room where his wife and daughter were sleeping.
They were both found dead of snakebites the next morning, while the father claimed to have been sleeping in another room.
Ganesh told his neighbors that a snake entered his house and bit his wife and child.
The villagers killed the snake and rushed the mother and daughter to a nearby hospital, where they were declared brought dead.
Ganesh filed a police complaint and a case of unnatural death was registered.
Ganjam Superintendent of Police Jagmohan Meena said Ganesh’s father-in-law accused him of murder. Ganesh was arrested a month after the incident.
Suspicion about the circumstances of the death began to grow and police questioned snake charmers in the area.
The villagers killed the snake and rushed the mother and daughter to a nearby hospital where they were declared dead (stock photo)
Ganesh initially denied the allegations but eventually admitted to his crimes during interrogation, police said.
Chief Inspector Meena added, “The suspect was arrested a month after the incident as there was some delay in collecting evidence against him.
“In the meantime, we also received the post-mortem report which clearly showed that the death of the mother-daughter duo had occurred on the night of October 6.
‘This raised suspicions as to how the reptile could remain in the same room for several hours until morning after biting the duo
‘During interrogation, he initially denied the accusation and later claimed that the snake may have entered the room on its own, but eventually confessed to committing the crime.’