Kasaragod: A tribeswoman died after she was bitten by a cobra in her home in Kasaragod on Wednesday night. The deceased is Chomu (64) from Kurudapadav in Paivalike grama panchayat. She belonged to the Koraga tribe, classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).

Panchayat member Seetharama Shetty said Chomu was sleeping in her house when she woke up startled around midnight. She felt she was bitten by an insect. She looked around but did not find anything. She called her brother Mathadi, who shared the house with her. The brother spotted the bite mark on her hand and suspected it to be a snake bite. He looked around and so the cobra coiled up in another room.

By then, her neighbours arranged a vehicle to take her to a hospital in Mangaluru. But she died on the way, he said. The cobra was caught by a snake catcher and handed over to Forest officials. Chomu is survived by her brother and daughter Akku. Her husband Manku predeceased her.