Maharashtra: SRPF jawan dies after venomous snakebite at Gadchiroli camp

A 37-year-old State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) jawan deployed in anti-Maoist operations in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district died on Tuesday evening after being bitten by a venomous snake at a camp in Regadi.

The deceased was identified as Police Naik Rahul Prabhakar Shingare, attached to the ‘F’ Company of SRPF Group No. 6, based in Dhule.

According to officers, the SRPF company was deployed to Gadchiroli about a month and a half ago, with personnel accommodated near the Regadi Police Aid Centre.

Shingare went to take a bath near a large water tank in the camp when a venomous snake bit his hand on Tuesday around 11am.

Fellow officers immediately took him to the Chamorshi Rural Hospital, located 40 kilometres away. As his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to the District General Hospital in Gadchiroli. Despite doctors’ best efforts, he died during treatment later that evening.

Shingare was reportedly also working as a snake charmer and was known to rescue them.

“A condolence salute was accorded at the police drill ground in Gadchiroli, where three rounds were fired in the air as part of state honours. Senior police officials, SRPF officers, and fellow jawans were present to pay their respects,” Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) M Ramesh said.

Following the necessary legal formalities and an autopsy, the body was handed over for final rites.

Meanwhile, in a separate operation on Tuesday, Gadchiroli Police and security forces recovered and destroyed a large cache of buried weapons, explosives, and Maoist material in the Koparshi forest area under the Bhamragad subdivision, near the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border.

The seized materials included one .303 rifle, two single-shot rifles, two country-made pistols, one Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL), live cartridges, detonators, walkie-talkies, and Maoist literature.