Nag Panchami Hindu snake festival
Indian man bites off snake's head after the reptile bit him - Representational image Sanjay Kanojia/AFP

A farmer from the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was admitted to a hospital in an unconscious state after he bit off a snake's head and chewed it before spitting it out.

The bizzare incident reportedly took place on Saturday (17 February) when the man, identified only as Sonelal, was allegedly bitten by the snake while he was grazing his cattle in the fields. The bite left Sonelal fuming and he picked up the reptile and bit off its head in revenge, he reportedly told doctors.

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According to a Times of India report, after taking his revenge, Sonelal fell unconscious. He was found by his nephew, Nanhe, and his neighbours, and was taken to a nearby hospital.

He was attended by Dr Mahendra Verma and pharmacist Hitesh Kumar at the hospital, who said, "We administered emergency medicines and kept him under observation."

Recalling what the farmer told him about the incident, Kumar said that "he [Sonelal] was grazing his cattle when a snake bit him. He said that he picked up the snake in anger and bit off its head and chewed it before spitting it out".

However, doctor Verma said that they did not find any snake bite mark on Sonelal's body. "It appears that the snake had not bitten him at all. We did not find any snake bite marks on his body. He turned unconscious because of consuming the snake's body part which could have contained venom assuming that it was a poisonous snake," the doctor noted.

As the bizzare news spread, several people rushed to the hospital to see Sonelal with many claiming that he was a drug addict.

Dr SC Tewari, secretary, state mental health society, also said that the man's behaviour was not normal. "This isn't normal human reaction. Someone has to be extremely aggressive or deranged to behave in this way," Tiwari told the newspaper.