Guwahati, Oct 6: One 60-year-old Raghunanda Bhumij died after being bitten to death by King Cobra snake on Sunday afternoon at Bishnupur Village in Assam’s Cachar district.

According to locals, Bhumij spotted the snake at paddy field and caught it. After which, he started roaming around the village with the snake around his neck, holding the reptile by the neck.

Seeing Bhumij with the snake, the villagers started filming him and he started dancing with the snake.

He was seen tapping the snake on its head, irritating it with frequent pokes. While he did all of it, he was holding the snake inappropriately.

The locals said it just took a moment and the snake ended up biting Bhumij, and there was no way back for him.

“We kept the body lying as we believe Ojha (quack) can cure him with magical powers. Unfortunately we could not find a good Ojha in our area, so he was cremated a day later,” a local resident said.

According to a forest official, it is dangerous to catch a King Cobra like that. It is also an offence under the Wildlife Protection Act. If one comes across any stray wildlife one should immediately report to the nearest forest official, said the forest official.

King Cobra is not dangerous as ‘Big Four’ category of snakes like Indian Cobra or Indian spectacled Cobra, Russel’s Viper, Saw-scaled viper and Common Krait. Also, the venom of King Cobra is less dangerous than others. However, they carry up to 6-7 millilitres of venom in its gland while other snakes can carry only one tenth of this amount.