A husband in India has been found guilty of murdering his wife by unleashing a venomous cobra that bit her while she slept.
P Sooraj, 27, hatched a meticulous plan which involved renting snakes from a handler and conducting extensive internet research on their bites.
A court in Kollam district in southern Kerala convicted him of murder and poisoning his wife Uthra, 25, in May 2020, and of making an earlier unsuccessful attempt to kill her using a Russell's viper.
In a packed courtroom on Monday, Judge Manoj M found him guilty of using the snake to inflict a fatal bite on his disabled wife.
The judge will pass sentence on Wednesday. The prosecution has demanded the death penalty, arguing the murder falls into the “rarest of the rare” category.
The murder has gripped the state. Investigators produced a 1,000-page charge sheet that detailed the meticulous murder plan.
Sooraj was arrested weeks after Ms Uthra’s family alleged foul play because of snake bites on her body and attempts by her husband to transfer her properties into his name.
The couple were married in 2018 and had a daughter. But Ms Uthra’s family alleged that Sooraj, a low-paid private employee, wanted to kill her to take her wealth and marry another woman.
Investigators said they found Sooraj bought a viper in March 2020 from a snake handler and used it to inflict bites on his wife, but she survived. Ms Uthra remained in hospital for weeks before moving to her parents’ house to recuperate. This is where the fatal attack took place in May.
The prosecution said Sooraj bought the venomous Indian cobra from another snake handler for 10,000 rupees ($1,300) and threw it on her while she slept. Sooraj remained in the room overnight and left for work in the morning before her parents found her in the bed with the cobra and with bites on her body.
No remorse
Prosecution lawyer G Mohanraj said a team of police investigators, herpetologists, forensic experts, veterinary surgeons and wildlife officials collected scientific evidence against Sooraj after the snake handler gave evidence against his customer.
DNA tests of the cobra matched the poison found in Ms Uthra’s body and investigators recreated the crime scene by using a snake on a dummy. Mr Mohanraj said they proved the snakebites were induced after a snake handler testified that the fang width on the body indicated that the serpent was provoked to bite the victim.
The prosecution said there had been no cobra bites in the area for 15 years.
“He did not have a slightest degree of remorse and maximum punishment should be given to him,” Mr Mohanraj told The National. “They have a child and he wanted to use her as a bargain and keep receiving the money."
Two defendants were acquitted by courts in similar cases in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in recent years after the prosecutions failed to prove snake bites were induced.
Last week, India’s Supreme Court denied bail to a woman and her lover accused of using a cobra to kill her mother-in-law in 2018. The court said using a snake as a “weapon of murder” was a heinous crime.
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FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The%20specs
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57%20Seconds
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SPECS
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The%20specs
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Results
Stage 7:
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5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
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4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Results:
Men’s wheelchair 200m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 27.14; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 27.81; 3. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 27.81.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
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What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
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- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Paris%20Agreement
%3Cp%3EArticle%2014%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E1.%20%5BThe%20Cop%5D%20shall%20periodically%20take%20stock%20of%20the%20implementation%20of%20this%20Agreement%20to%20assess%20the%20collective%20progress%20towards%20achieving%20the%20purpose%20of%20this%20Agreement%20and%20its%20long-term%20goals%20(referred%20to%20as%20the%20%22global%20stocktake%22)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20%5BThe%20Cop%5D%20shall%20undertake%20its%20first%20global%20stocktake%20in%202023%20and%20every%20five%20years%20thereafter%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Genesis G80 2020 5.0-litre Royal Specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
Astroworld
Travis Scott
Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
ANDROID%20VERSION%20NAMES%2C%20IN%20ORDER
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Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
Forced%20Deportations
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Violence%20
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Company%20profile
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The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E666hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E850Nm%20at%202%2C300-4%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQ1%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh1.15%20million%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Gulf Men's League final
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Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
