MillenniumPost
Bengal

Jatra artiste dies of snake bite while performing

Kolkata: Performing a Jatrapala with a venomous snake proved fatal for Kalidashi Mondal, a Jatra artiste who was declared brought dead by hospital authorities after getting bitten by it.
The incident brought to light the shocking negligence on the part of the Jatra organisers, who allowed a local exorcist to perform his tricks on the victim for four hours after the incident occurred. The hospital authorities said the patient's life could have been saved, had she been brought to the hospital earlier.
It was learnt from the local sources that the victim, Mondal and her troops were performing 'Manasa Mangal' in Barunghat area of Hasnabad on Tuesday evening.
The Jatrapala was organised at the house of one Manoranjan Das on the occasion of Manasa Puja. To make the performance more lively, a local exorcist handed over a poisonous snake to the woman.
Without assuming the implication of the incident, she also agreed to enact the epic with the snake. According to locals, the victim thought that the snake might have been entirely devoid of venom.
When she started acting with the snake, it suddenly bit her. When she collapsed on the stage, the exorcist insisted on doing the treatment himself and did not allow anybody to take her to a nearby hospital.
He continued his tricks on the woman for four hours. When the locals and her fellow colleagues finally took her to the hospital, the doctors pronounced her brought dead.
Question arises on why her other colleagues did not prevent the victim from taking the snake. The locals demanded stern action against Biswas who is currently at large. A probe has been initiated.
Next Story
Share it