Uthra Verdict: How a Snakebite Case Led to a Murder Conviction in Kerala
In a rare case, reportedly the first in Kerala, Sooraj S Kumar, was convicted of murdering his wife using a cobra.
“I have nothing to say,” said Sooraj S Kumar, minutes before he was pronounced guilty of murdering his wife. An Additional Sessions Court in Kollam district of Kerala, on Monday, 11 October held that Kumar had used a cobra to induce its bite on his 25-year-old wife, Uthra, with an intension to kill her.
The incident, which was first considered a natural snakebite, had happened on 7 May 2020. Shortly after, Uthra’s family accused Kumar of killing his wife for dowry.
He was found guilty under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 328 (causing injury by a poisonous substance), and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code.
It is a rare case and believed to be the first in Kerala, where an accused used a snake to kill a person.
