Bettiah: A one-year-old child from Bettiah in Bihar has turned into an overnight sensation on social media after biting a snake, identified by locals as a deadly cobra, to death. The snake had apparently coiled around the child’s arm while he was playing outside their house when he bit it instinctively.

The child, named Govinda, lost consciousness after a few hours of the incident and was rushed to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) from where he he was referred to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Bettiah. Doctors there said that his condition is stable. He has been kept under observation.

“Govinda was playing on the ground outside the house while his mother had moved a short distance away to collect dry sticks. The snake slithered towards the boy and then coiled around his arm. Govinda was irritated and seems to have struck the snake with something he was playing with before biting it. The snake died immediately. There are no visible bite marks on the boy’s body,” his grandmother Mateshwari Devi said.

Medical experts have said that this is a rare case and people should not feel that every snake or child would behave the way they did in Bettiah. Parents should be careful where they place their children while attending to chores, particularly during the monsoon when snakes tend to seek shelter near houses as their natural shelters get flooded.

“In this case, the snake was clearly not in an aggressive mood. It may have got stunned after being struck by the boy with whatever he was playing with. And then, the child’s sharp teeth caused the damage. Children of that age have extremely sharp teeth. Had the snake been aggressive, the child would have no chance. Hence, people should not take this as a normal case,” one of them said.

A doctor said that the child may have fallen ill after ingesting something attached to the snake’s body or a small portion of the reptile itself.