Man Murders Wife, Daughter Using Poisonous Snake in Ganjam Dist, Arrested

Berhampur: A 25-year-old man named K. Ganesh Patra allegedly murdered his wife and 2-year-old daughter using a poisonous snake procured from a snake charmer at Adheibara village under Kabisuryanagar police station limits in Ganjam district.

According to the police, the accused hatched this unique murder plan because of a marital dispute he was having with his wife.

It is alleged that Patra procured a poisonous cobra from a snake charmer and released it into the room where his wife Basanti and the minor daughter were sleeping on October 7. The snake bit the mother-daughter duo.

The family members killed the snake and rushed the duo to the hospital where they were received dead. The post-mortem report also mentioned the cause of the deaths as snakebite.

Initially, the police considered it a case of unnatural death due to a snakebite, but police investigated more when the father-in-law filed an FIR against the accused.

Investigation proved that the accused had procured the cobra from a snake charmer with the plea that he would use the reptile for some special rituals at a Shiva temple.

Ganesh had married Basanti in 2020. They were also blessed with one daughter. Because of the marital tussle, Basanti had earlier lodged a complaint against her husband under The Dowry Prohibition Act. But for the past three months, both were staying together.