Puri: The craze for making social media reels claimed two lives in Odisha within 24 hours, with a boy and a snake catcher dying in separate incidents, police said Saturday.
In the first incident, the boy died after being hit by a train while allegedly filming a reel on the Khordha-Balangir railway line in Boudh district.
The deceased, a resident of Talupali village within Baunsuni police station limits, was making a reel near the railway track Friday evening when the accident took place, police said.
“This was the second incident involving the boy, who was earlier caught making reels while lying under a train on a railway track. His family members were cautioned and informed about the dangerous consequences of the act. However, the boy again came to the tracks to make a reel and died,” police said.
In another incident in Puri district, a 28-year-old snake catcher, Tapan Kumar Pradhan, died after being bitten multiple times by a cobra while filming a social media reel at his home in Kanthapur village within Puri Sadar police station limits.
Pradhan used to share videos of handling venomous snakes on Instagram.
The incident took place Friday afternoon when he was handling the reptile on his veranda. The cobra bit him on his fingers, elbow and upper arm during the shoot, said Suvendu Mallick, a trainer who teaches snake-catching techniques.
Pradhan was initially rushed to a nearby private hospital and later shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Puri, where he was declared dead shortly after arrival.
PTI
