A 27-year-old bank worker was convicted of murdering his wife by deliberately starving a deadly cobra and forcing it to bite her while she slept. Sooraj Kumar, who had been married to Uthra for two years, hatched the plan to become the sole owner of her dowry in gold and receive the payout from a life insurance policy he had taken out months before her death.
A Series of Suspicious Snake Attacks
Uthra, a stay-at-home mother with a disability, had been recovering from a previous snake bite when she suffered the fatal cobra bite. In March 2020, she was bitten by a Russell's viper at her home in Adoor, India, leaving her bedridden. She returned to her parents' home to recover and underwent plastic surgery for the damage.
Just 52 days later, on May 6, 2020, her mother found her unconscious. She had been bitten by a cobra and died the following day. The cobra was found in the room and killed. Suspiciously, Sooraj, who usually slept late, had woken early and gone outside before the discovery.
Family Suspicions Lead to Arrest
A week after Uthra's death, her father, Vijayasenan, contacted police, realizing it would have been almost impossible for the cobra to enter the room without detection. Uthra had told her parents that Sooraj was an expert at handling venomous snakes. Snake expert Vava Suresh, who the family consulted, alerted authorities, noting the first bite should have been almost impossible as a Russell's viper would struggle to reach the second floor.
Sooraj was arrested along with snake catcher Chavarukavu Suresh. In July 2020, Sooraj confessed he had bought two snakes for £100 each, given Uthra sleeping tablets, and kept the cobra in a bottle without food from April 24 to May 6 to ensure it would bite.
Wider Conspiracy and Conviction
Sooraj was charged with murder, attempted murder, and destruction of evidence. Investigations revealed Uthra's bank locker had been emptied on the date of the first attack. Her father-in-law, Surendran Panicker, was arrested for hiding 38 pieces of gold jewellery in a rubber plantation. Most of the dowry remains missing. In August 2020, Sooraj's mother and sister were also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy.
In August 2021, Sooraj was found guilty, marking the first conviction for using a live animal as a murder weapon. He received two life sentences. A film about the murder, Rajakumari, was released in 2025.
