A housewife named Jannatul Ferdous Sagarika, 26, has died after being bitten by a venomous snake in Daulatpur, Kushtia. She died for lack of proper treatment, as she was taken to an ojha (traditional exorcist) for incantations instead of to hospital.

Sagarika was the wife of Nure Alam Jiku of Thotar Para village in Ramkrishnapur union of the upazila, and the daughter of Jamal Uddin.

According to local people and police, a venomous snake bit Sagarika at around 11pm on Thursday, 27 August, as she went outside to the toilet. Instead of taking her to hospital immediately, family members took her to a local exorcist, where much time was lost on incantations.

When her condition deteriorated, she was taken to the Daulatpur Upazila Health Complex at about 2:30am, where the doctor on duty declared her dead.

Dr Touhidul Hasan Tuhin, family planning officer at the health complex, said the patient had died before reaching hospital. "The health complex has an adequate stock of antivenom to treat snakebites. If, instead of relying on an exorcist or kabiraj out of superstition, she had been brought to hospital quickly, her life might have been saved," he said.

Khaledur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Daulatpur police station, said police went to the scene after being informed by the hospital. The victim's father, Jamal Uddin, filed an unnatural death case with the police, and the body was handed over to the family after legal formalities.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.