Last Updated:
The girl’s extraordinary claim has left the district health department puzzled, but she insists that she sees the reptile when it strikes and the marks on her legs are proof
Bhaihsaha in UP’s Kaushambi district is known to be snake infested due to waterlogging and poor sanitation in houses that have mud walls; (right) the teenager claimed that the snakebites have left marks on her leg. (Image: News18)
Bhaihsaha, a settlement of about 300 people in Kaushambi district of Uttar Pradesh, is gripped by unease. A peculiar case has cropped up in the village, which is known to be infested with snakes — a 15-year-old girl has claimed that the same snake has bitten her 13 times in 40 days.
“A black snake is after my life. Please save me. It has bitten me 13 times and, every time it bites, it feels like an electric shock and it leaves fang marks on my body,” said the girl.
Recommended Stories
The girl’s extraordinary claim has left the district health department puzzled, but she insists that she sees the reptile when it strikes and the marks on her legs are proof.
“It happens both inside and outside our house. We close the doors at night, but it still comes,” she said.
Her father Rajendra, a daily-wage farmer, said the family has spent more than Rs 4 lakh on her treatment and rituals since July 22, when she reported the first bite.
“We begged snake-catchers to help but no one came. Sometimes, it disappears into the fields, sometimes in the house. We can’t trap it, and we don’t know how long this will go on,” Rajendra said.
In Bhaihsaha, most houses have mud walls, waterlogging is common, and sanitation is poor — conditions that attract snakes and, yet, no village resident apart from the teenager and her relatives have seen the “black snake”, which seems to be shrouded in mystery.
“We hear of it only from her family. We are scared to even speak about it. What if it comes for us?” one resident said.
The family has already moved the girl’s younger siblings to relatives’ homes. They even called on an occult practitioner, but local residents said nothing changed.
Her aunt insists that she once saw the snake. “It was thick, black, and about as long as an arm. It doesn’t just appear inside the house, it has bitten her outside too,” the woman said.
WHAT IS THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT SAYING?
While the family and village residents are convinced about the snake, doctors are far more sceptical. Kaushambi chief medical officer (CMO) Sanjay Kumar said the teenager was treated for suspected snakebites on July 22 and again on August 13.
“But reports of 13 attacks are not confirmed. Their house is mud-walled, and snakes often take shelter in such structures during the monsoon. We have ordered cleaning and spraying in and around the house,” Dr Sanjay Kumar said.
Dr Arun Kumar of Sirathu community health centre (CHC), who treated her, said her body did not bear the typical puncture marks or symptoms of venomous bites.
“It may have been a non-poisonous snake, if any. We ensured her surroundings were cleaned and administered medicines. She is stable,” Dr Arun Kumar said.
Some medical experts have suggested a psychological angle. “Medically, there is no basis for the same snake to repeatedly attack one person. This could be a kind of phobia in which the patient is firmly convinced she is being bitten,” said Dr Hari Om Kumar Singh, principal of Kaushambi Medical College.
But this is not the first time such a peculiar claim has surfaced.
In 2021, a woman from Hardoi district alleged that a cobra repeatedly bit her on several occasions prompting village residents to bring in snake-charmers and occultists before doctors intervened and suggested a psychological condition.
A similar case was recorded in 2024 in Fatehpur when a 24-year-old man, Vikas Dubey from Soura village, reportedly suffered seven snakebites in 40 days — six between June 2 and July 6, and the seventh later. What made the situation stranger was his claim that the bites always occurred on Saturdays or Sundays, and that he experienced a premonition before each attack.
The family, overwhelmed by medical expenses, even appealed to the authorities for financial aid. In response, the CMO formed a three-member medical panel to investigate. After examining the case files and interviewing relatives and doctors, they concluded that only one snakebite had occurred while the rest likely stemmed from what was diagnosed as snake phobia, a psychological condition, and not actual repeated attacks.
In Bhaihsaha, however, whispers of the supernatural abound. For now, children are avoiding the girl’s house even as her parents battle mounting costs, and the child lives in constant dread of the “next attack”.
September 05, 2025, 07:00 IST
Loading comments…
Read More
