Chhattisgarh shocker: Lizard in mouth kills child in Korba

A toddler was found dead with a lizard in his mouth in Chhattisgarh's Korba on Monday morning with the case leaving even the local cops confused. Did the child die of lizard poison or due to suffocation caused by the reptile entering his mouth? The question remains to be answered.

Korba (Chhattisgarh): In a bizarre incident, a two-and-a-half-year-old boy died after a lizard allegedly entered the baby's mouth in the neighbourhood of Naginbhantha in Chhattisgarh on Monday morning. Jagdish, the youngest of the three children in Sande family was sleeping in the morning when the incident happened. Police have started an investigation into the incident.

According to Rajkumar Sande, the grief-stricken father of the child, Jagdish was fast asleep on his bed when the incident occurred. His mother had briefly stepped out to run an errand, leaving the toddler unattended for a short period. Upon her return, she discovered the distressing scene—a lizard was found inside her son's mouth, and the child appeared lifeless, his breathing had already ceased.

The local police were promptly informed, and they arrived at the scene to initiate an investigation into the matter. Chief Constable Yogesh Ratre of police station Bakimongra took charge of the situation and conducted a preliminary examination. However, the exact cause of the child's death remained unclear, prompting them to send Jagdish's body for a postmortem examination.

Balram Kurre, an Assistant Professor of Zoology at Government EVPG College, said, "Domestic lizards are not known to possess venom potent enough to cause immediate death". This led to speculation about other possible causes that could have resulted in such a tragic outcome.

Professor Kurre, however, explained that while the lizards found in households may have a certain level of poison, it is typically insufficient to be fatal to humans. “Lizard's presence in the child's mouth might have led to suffocation, blocking the windpipe and cutting off the child's oxygen supply and that might have caused his death,” he suggested. Alternatively, he pointed out that food poisoning or cholera could be potential causes, although a definitive conclusion could only be drawn after further investigation.

The circumstances leading up to the incident are still hazy. It remains a mystery as to how the lizard gained entry into the child's mouth while he was sleeping unattended. With the child alone in the house at the time, there are questions surrounding the chain of events that led to this devastating tragedy.