Odisha: Month After ‘Snakebite Death’ Of Wife & 2-Year-Old Daughter, Man Held For Murder

Berhampur: More than a month after the death of a woman and her daughter at a village in Odisha’s Ganjam district was attributed to snakebite, the incident took a new turn with the police stating that it was a case of murder.

The deceased woman’s husband, identified as K Ganesh Patra, has been arrested for allegedly killing his wife and daughter in a planned way by releasing a poisonous snake into the room where they were sleeping. The shocking incident had taken place on October 7 at Adheibara village under Kabisuryanagar police limits in the district.

According to sources, Ganesh married Basanti Patra of the same village in 2020. They, however, had marital discord and the wife even lodged a complaint with Kabisuryanagar police against him on October 23 last year. The matter was resolved with counselling and intervention of elder members of the two families and they again started staying together about three months ago.

Police probe revealed that Ganesh had other things on his mind and plotted to eliminate Basanti in such a way that would appear accidental. He purchased a SIM card in the name of his father on September 26 and used the number to contact several snake charmers to procure a poisonous snake. “He claimed he needed the snake to worship at a Lord Shiva temple. On October 6, snake charmer Basanta Acharya rescued a venomous reptile from a house at Bhaiga Sahi of Kodala and handed it over in a plastic jar to Ganesh,” Ganjam SP Jagmohan Meena told the media.

Ganesh slept in a separate room that night and released the snake into the one, where Basanti was asleep with their daughter around 2 am. They were rushed to Hinjlicut government hospital where both were declared brought dead.

While, prima facie it appeared to be a snake bite death case, the deceased’s father lodged a complaint against his son-in-law, accusing him of killing his daughter and granddaughter. Considering the history of marital discord between the couple, the SP then ordered a detailed probe into the case.

Police tracked down Basant after interrogating several persons. The accused too confessed to the crime during questioning. His mobile phone was seized and voice call recordings to the snake charmers were also retrieved. “The statement of the snake charmer is important for the prosecution of the accused,” Meena added.