Puri: A 28-year-old snake catcher, who was known for easily overpowering venomous snakes and whose videos of playing with snakes had gone viral on social media, died after being bitten by a cobra on Friday.
The deceased has been identified as Tapan Kumar Pradhan (28) of Kanthapur village under Sadar police station.
His body has been kept at the mortuary of the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) in Puri. The body will be handed over to the family after post-mortem on Saturday, police said.
According to reports, Tapan was shooting a reel and taking photos with a cobra on the veranda of his house at around 2 pm on Friday when the cobra first bit the thumb of his right hand. Also, the snake bit his elbow and arm.
Tapan was admitted to a private hospital where he was given an injection. Doctors advised him to take another injection after 10 minutes. However, Tapan returned home without taking the second injection.
In the afternoon, Tapan’s condition deteriorated. His family members rushed him to the District Headquarters Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Notably, Tapan had caught hundreds of snakes in his lifetime and used to rescue snakes that entered houses in the area.
