A tragic incident in Biaora town of Rajgarh district, Madhya Pradesh, has claimed the life of an experienced snake rescuer after he was bitten by a common krait. The deceased, identified as 40-year-old Pravesh alias Peenu, son of Mohan Giri, passed away on Tuesday following severe envenomation. Despite being bitten during the capture operation, he initially treated the injury lightly and carried the venomous serpent home before seeking clinical care.
Bitten on the Finger During Suthalia Road Rescue
According to available details, Peenu received information around 9:00 PM on Monday night regarding a krait spotted along the Suthalia Road locality. Responding to the alert, he arrived at the location to retrieve the reptile. During the rescue maneuver, the venomous krait bit Peenu directly on his finger. Instead of prioritizing immediate medical evaluation or anti-venom treatment, Peenu dismissed the bite and proceeded to bag the snake.
Rather than releasing the captured serpent immediately into distant woodland, he carried it directly to his residence. Upon reaching home, Peenu displayed the reptile to his family members and children. Relatives recounted that he even placed the snake into the hands of a young girl inside the house, unaware of how quickly the neurotoxic venom would begin circulating in his bloodstream.
Deterioration, Transfer, and Death En Route to Bhopal
Shortly after the encounter, Peenu began experiencing severe physiological distress, extreme restlessness, and escalating anxiety. Realizing the gravity of the situation, family members hurried him to the local Civil Hospital in Biaora. Medical personnel administered preliminary emergency measures; however, with his clinical state deteriorating rapidly, attending physicians directed an urgent referral to advanced medical facilities in Bhopal. While being transported, Peenu succumbed to the venom before the ambulance could reach Bhopal.
A Decade of Informal Wildlife Handling
Family members shared that Peenu was not a professionally trained or certified snake catcher, though he had been independently capturing serpents for approximately 10 years. Across that decade, he had successfully handled and relocated numerous large, dangerous reptiles back into forested reserves without major mishaps. That extended familiarity reportedly contributed to a false sense of security regarding the krait bite. Peenu was one of two brothers and is survived by his wife, a son, and a daughter.
Family Declines Autopsy Before Cremation
Biaora City Police Station in-charge Shivraj Singh Chouhan confirmed the sequence of events surrounding the fatality. Chouhan stated that the deceased man's relatives explicitly refused an official post-mortem examination. Following this decision, local police drafted the standard inquest report and released the body to the grief-stricken family, who subsequently performed the final rites.
Previous Mass Rescue of 20 Cobras in Mandsaur
Snake encounters and dramatic extractions have previously drawn attention across the state. A few months earlier in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, residents discovered 20 cobra snakes residing inside a domestic water well built inside a residence. Rescue operators had to pump approximately 7 water tankers into the well structure to force the cobras to the surface for extraction, an event that startled local communities due to the extraordinary concentration of serpents in a single domestic site.
