Venomous Snake Bites Sleeping 14-Year-Old After Entering School Hostel, Girl Dead

A 14-year-old girl died after a snake entered her school hostel and bit her while she was asleep. The incident took place in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Sunday.

The victim, identified as Varsha, was a grade nine student. On Saturday night, a venomous snake entered the hostel room and bit her. In the wee hours of Sunday, Varsha alerted her friends after falling ill. The hostelers noticed froth coming out from her mouth and immediately informed the hostel warden. The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced brought dead.

During a search conducted by the school authorities following her death, a cobra was found hiding inside a box in the hostel upon which television was placed. The authorities beat the snake to death. An autopsy was conducted and preliminary investigation confirmed the victim had died from snakebite.

A case of suspicious death was filed following a complaint by the victim’s father. The investigation into the matter is on.

The incident comes days after a snake was killed by students after the reptile slithered into a washroom in a university hostel in the Indian state of Punjab. The reptile was first discovered by a hosteler when it crossed his feet and entered the washroom. He immediately alerted the other hotel residents. Some of the hostelers managed to gather courage and kill the snake in the washroom.

“There was no electricity in the hostel at that time, so we used mobile torches to look for it. The snake was found inside the washroom and was killed by the students. This happened because the university authorities failed to cut the bushes and long grass behind the hostel despite our frequent requests as there are a number of rats and snakes there. The students are living in panic after the incident. We have come here to study, not to be bitten by poisonous snakes,” a student said.