TIMES OF INDIA (New Delhi) 21 September 13 Man bites off snake hood, reptile dies, he survives (Manjari Mishra)
Jabalpur: Krishna Kumar Praste, a 55-year-old Gond tribal from Kohka village, is certainly not a man to fool around with. But the six-foot rat snake (ptyas mucosa) coiled around the beam of his barn had no such inkling. On Thursday, when Praste, a driver with the divisional forest office, Dindori, was tying a bunch of corn cobs to a hook, the snake flung itself on the floor, crawled closer, sunk its teeth into his ankle and slithered out.
Praste was furious. Letting out a torrent of expletives, he chased the snake, caught it firmly in his fist and bit its head off. The reptile was torn into two, confirmed Mohan Chhatri, his colleague in the department who along with hundreds of villagers had a closer look at both man and reptile.
Praste has always been known to be a hot-headed man and people generally keep off his way when he stinks of toddy. This time, the fanged reptile was the victim of his fury.
Praste was rushed to the district hospital and given an anti-venom vaccine. And surprisingly, he recovered by night. This confirmed by the doctor on duty, Dr A K Verma.
However, by Friday morning he was reported missing. He simply left without telling anyone or getting officially discharged, Dr Verma told TOI.
The man quoted boredom as a reason for sudden disappearance form the hospital bed. So what made him bite the snake?
Head constable Ashok Mankar, who was routinely approached by hospital authorities to lodge a case of snake bite, told TOI how Paraste walked into the police station with a gamchha (towel ) which held the dead snake. He was still seething with rage. And when Mankar questioned him, he simply answered - "Khopdi ghoom gayee thi gusse se (I just got mad)".
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