In a bizarre incident, villagers near Jajpur in eastern India took a cobra hostage after it bit a six-year-old boy.

The superstitious people also called in a shaman, who claimed she could remove the poison from the boy’s body, using her magical powers.

Though a few educated villagers took the victim to a hospital for treatment, his family refused to let go of either the cobra or the shaman.

A three-member Snake Helpline team, led by Pramod Sahu, went to the village on October 8 and found that the cobra had already spent two days in captivity. Though the villagers believed that the child might perish if they freed the snake, the Snake Helpline team tried to convince them that their belief had no basis.

They also persuaded the shaman to rush through with her rituals and then rescued the snake, which later was released at a safe habitat.

Pramod said: "The villagers were reluctant to let the snake go. They yielded only after I said they were facing arrest under the Wildlife Protection Act.”

Subhendu Mallik, General Secretary of Snake Helpline, said: "Snake-related superstitions retain a strong hold on people in India. These villagers are endangering both themselves and the snake…there is a high risk of the agitated snake biting others when it is taken hostage.”

The boy who was admitted to a hospital in nearby Cuttack is recovering.