Faith healing after snakebite fails, farm labourer dies, wife critical

Bhopal: A snakebite incident in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna district took a sordid turn after a labourer allegedly died due to delayed medical treatment while his wife, who was also bitten by the same viper, was battling for life at a hospital. It was alleged that relatives of the couple

relied on superstition and faith healing instead of ensuring their timely admission to a hospital.

Ashok Sahariya, a farm labourer from Bakhan village in Aron police station limits, and his wife Dulari were bitten by a venomous snake while sleeping in Gude village near Bamori around 2 am on Wednesday.

Instead of rushing them to a hospital, family members allegedly took the couple to a religious site in Borkheda village for ritual healing, in the course of which several precious hours were wasted.

As their condition worsened, the couple was finally shifted to a private hospital in Guna.

Doctors declared Ashok dead, while Dulari remained critical till last reports.