Uthra murder case: Police obtain crucial evidence by conducting dummy experiment

KOLLAM: Police have obtained crucial evidence in the Uthra murder case by using snakes and a dummy of Uthra. The experiments were conducted by putting the snake on the dummy and by provoking the snake. Video footage of the dummy experiment surfaced on Thursday.

The investigation team conducted the dummy experiment with the help of Mavish, a snake catcher at Arippa Forest Institute. Cobras of the same size as the cobra that bit Uthra were used in the experiment. The experiment was performed to determine the extent of the injury caused by a normal snake bite and the extent of the injury caused when the snake gets provoked. The experiment revealed that the snake was provoked to bite Uthra.

90 percent of the hearing of the case is over. The date of the verdict will be announced soon. Uthra was found dead by snakebite at her house in Anchal on May 7, 2020.

From the video footage

1. The snake was dumped from the plastic tin onto the dummy body three times to find the extent of the wound caused by the natural snakebite. The snake was seen moving into the corner of the room without biting the dummy.
2. The snake did not bite the dummy even after a piece of chicken was attached to the hand-shaped dummy. The snake did not bite the dummy as cobras are not usually active during the night. However, Uthra was bitten by a cobra during the night.
3. The cobra was provoked by tapping on its tail. Following this, the snake bit the dummy's hand several times. The wound caused by the bite was 1.7 cm wide.
4. The snake was then grabbed by the neck and forced to bite on the dummy. The wound caused by the first bite was 2 cm wide while the wound caused by the second one was 2.4 cm wide. The width of the wounds on Uthra's body were 2.3 cm and 2.8 cm wide. Through this experiment, it became clear that the snake was grabbed by the neck and forced to bite Uthra.

First pointed out by Snake Master
Vava Suresh, who hosts Kaumudy TV's 'Snake Master', was the first to point out that Uthra was murdered. Vava had asserted that the snake was not likely to crawl to the second floor of the house and that someone might have tried to kill Uthra by putting the snake in the room. During the early days of the investigation, Vava had said that Uthra might have been murdered as it was not possible for a cobra to enter the AC room where the window and the door remained closed. He also added that Uthra might have been sedated before she was bitten by the snake.

To clarify these matters scientifically, Vava Suresh went to Uthra's house and prepared a special 'Snake Master' program. He explained with evidence that there were no traces of the snake crawling in the room and that what happened was murder. This episode of 'Snake Master' became a great weapon for the investigation team. Vava was made a witness in the case. Vava's statement was decisive even during the hearing. The court accepted 7 episodes of 'Snake Master' as key evidence.