A man who reportedly killed his wife and two-year-old daughter by releasing a cobra in their bedroom has been arrested.
K. Ganesh Patra, 25, reportedly brought the poisonous snake in a jar and released it into the room his wife and daughter were sleeping in Adheigaon village, Odisha, India, on 6th October.
The 23-year-old K Basanti Patra and her daughter Debasmita were later both found dead.
At first, the police did not suspect murder, until Basanti’s father reported his son-in-law.
And after an investigation, Patra was arrested for the murder of his wife and daughter on Thursday, 23rd November.
The police said the suspect had taken the cobra from a snake charmer, telling him that it was intended for religious rites.
Kabisuryanagar police station IIC, Prabhat Kumar Sahu, said: “On that night, the family members killed the snake and rushed the duo to hospital where they were received dead.
“The post-mortem report also pointed out the cause of the deaths as snake bites.
“We launched our probe on the basis of the allegations of the deceased’s father.
“During the investigation, we came to know that he (K Ganesh Patra) had procured the reptile from a charmer. The charmer will also be interrogated.”
B Khali Patra, father of the dead woman, said: “I have two daughters. Three years ago, my second daughter married K Ganesh Patra.
“Falling in love with his sister–in–law’s brother’s wife, he started harassing her. He had also applied for a divorce. When I filed a case under Section 498, the divorce was stalled.
“He eventually eliminated her. He killed her by releasing a snake into their room.”
But Patra denied the allegation by saying: “My father-in-law has implicated me in a false case of killing his daughter by using a snake.
Police Superintended Jagmohan Meena said: “The accused was arrested a month after the incident as there was some delay in gathering evidence against him.
“During interrogation, he initially denied the allegation and later claimed that the snake might have entered the room on its own but eventually confessed to committing the crime.”
The investigation is ongoing.
