Eight-year-old Deepak from Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district has made to international newspapers after he bit a cobra twice, which killed it.
The act was in retaliation after the serpent had bit the boy.
Deepak was playing in his backyard when suddenly a cobra wrapped itself around his arm and sank his fangs into him. Deepak, in agony from the snakebite and unable to shake off the venomous snake, bit it back, killing it on the spot.
“The snake got wrapped around my hand and bit me. I was in great pain. As the reptile didn’t budge when I tried to shake it off, I bit it hard twice. It all happened in a flash,” Deepak said.
Deepak’s parents immediately rushed him to a medical centre, where he was administered anti-venom and kept under observation for a day.
Doctors after examining Deepak’s injury concluded that he sustained a “dry bite”, meaning the cobra did not release any venom. The boy was discharged from the hospital and is absolutely fit.
The Jashpur district where the attack happened is known for snakes with more than 200 species living in the area. A recent study found that of the 63,000 people estimated to have died from snakebites in 2019, 51,000 were killed in India.
