In an unfortunate incident, a 20-year-old man died after putting a Cobra's head in his mouth while making reels in a bid to achieve Instagram popularity.
The incident occurred in the Kamareddy district of the Indian state of Telangana and the deceased has been identified as Shivaraj. Video footage of the incident has since been shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The video shows the young man placing a giant cobra in his mouth, standing in the middle of the road. The serpent, trapped in his mouth, was seen struggling to get out as the man was standing with folded hands. At one point, he was also seen running his hands through his hair.
The post, shared by a senior journalist Srinivas Reddy K, was captioned, "Here is the gullible youngster, who held a cobra in his mouth to get filmed possibly for posting on social media platforms. He died later as the snake bit him in his mouth. This bizarre incident happened in Desaipet village of #Kamareddy district in #Telangana. #bizarre."
Shivaraj and his father were both snake rescuers. As they managed to catch the snake featuring in the video, his dad had requested him to record a video and share it on WhatsApp groups, media reports have suggested, according to DNA India.
The snake, in its efforts to wriggle out of the man's mouth, ended up biting him or released venom into his mouth. Shivaraj later fell unconscious. His father immediately shifted rushed him to a nearby hospital, where the doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Netizens on social media have expressed displeasure at the video, questioning his decision to put a venomous cobra in his mouth.
"This shows how our youths are addicted to social media. To get instant popularity there are risking their life," a user wrote.
Another user commented, "People are so reckless with their lives".
