Bettiah: Janaki Devi, popularly known as the “Snake Lady”, was bitten by a king cobra while rescuing the reptile in Bisaha village of Valmikinagar along the India-Nepal border in West Champaran district on Wednesday evening. She was rushed to a military camp hospital in Triveni, Nepal, where doctors said she was out of danger.According to her son, Krishna Kumar, the incident occurred after a king cobra entered the house of a resident of Hathi Malkhanta Tola near Bisaha village. Following information from locals, Janaki reached the spot and rescued the snake.“After the rescue, Janaki took the king cobra to 6 RD, where she was posing for photographs with the snake wrapped around her neck. During this, the snake bit her on the hand,” Krishna said.He said she was immediately taken to a hospital in Triveni in Nepal’s Nawalparasi, where doctors confirmed that her condition was stable.Residents said the 56-year-old has been rescuing snakes since she was 12 and has saved thousands of venomous reptiles over the years. Despite having been bitten more than 50 times, she continues the work.A local resident said Janaki rescues snakes free of cost whenever they stray into homes and later releases them into nearby forests.Valmikinagar forest range officer Satyam Kumar said snakes often enter villages during the monsoon and seasonal changes. He urged people not to try to catch them on their own and instead alert the forest department.“People should not try to catch snakes themselves. The forest department’s trained teams carry out rescue operations safely,” Kumar said.
56-year-old Janaki Devi has been rescuing snakes since she was 12 and has saved thousands of venomous reptiles over the years