- Suspicions were raised 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 venomous cobra into their room.
The incident took place in Adheigaon, a village in the state of Odisha.
The 25-year-old man, identified as K Ganesh Patra, was having a marital dispute with his wife K Basanti Patra, 23. They married in 2020 and had a daughter named Debasmita.
According to NDTV, the husband allegedly bought the cobra from a snake charmer, saying he would use it for religious purposes.
Ganesh told his neighbours that a snake entered his house and bit his wife and child (stock photo)
The 25-year-old man, identified as K Ganesh Patra (centre) was having a marital dispute with his wife K Basanti Patra, 23
On October 6, Ganesh allegedly released the snake from a plastic jar in the room where his wife and daughter slept.
They were both found dead with snake bites the next morning, while the father claimed to have slept in another room.
Ganesh told his neighbours 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 dead.
Ganesh lodged a complaint with police and a case of unnatural death was registered.
Superintendent of Police Jagmohan Meena said Ganesh’s father-in-law accused him of murder. Ganesh was arrested a month after the incident.
Suspicion began to grow about the circumstances of the death and police questioned snake charmers in the local 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 accusations, but eventually admitted to his crimes under interrogation, police said.
Superintendent Meena added: ‘The accused was arrested a month after the incident as there was some delay in gathering evidence against him.
‘Meanwhile, we also received the post-mortem report clearly indicating that the death of the mother-daughter duo had occurred during late October 6 night.
‘This raised suspicion about how could the reptile remain in the same room till morning several hours after biting the duo.
‘During interrogation, he initially denied the allegation and later claimed that the snake might have entered the room on its own, but eventually confessed to committing the crime.’