Uthra Murder by Snakebite: Kerala court sentences husband Sooraj to life imprisonment, ₹5 lakh fine

The Additional Sessions Court, Kollam, presided by Justice Manoj M pronounced the sentence in this unique case where the husband committed murder by throwing a starving cobra onto his sleeping wife to induce death by snakebite.

In March 2020, a then 27-year-old Sooraj had first attempted to murder his wife by setting a venomous starving viper on a sleeping Uthra but she had survived that attack.

However, Sooraj was successful in his second attempt in May 2020, when he used a deadlier Indian cobra and this time, Uthra, who was recovering from the first attempt on her life, succumbed to the lethal bite of the cobra.

While Sooraj's family initially attempted to dismiss the incident as a natural snakebite, Uthra's family filed a police complaint alleging foul play and dowry harassment.