A man in the Indian state of Bihar gave a snake a taste of its own proverbial venom by biting it to death, local media reported on Friday.

According to local reports, Santosh Lohar, a worker employed on a railroad project in Rajouli, was sleeping at his base camp earlier this week when the incident occurred. A snake, presumed to be venomous, decided to snack on the sleeping man, entering the tent and biting him.

Santosh woke up and attacked the reptile, slamming it with an iron rod and biting it back several times. The snake was fatally injured and died on the spot.

The laborer claimed that he responded the way he did in accordance with a local custom.

“In my village, there’s a belief that if a snake bites you, you must bite it back twice to neutralize the venom,” he stated.

Given the dubious reliability of the folk remedy, many locals doubted the reptile was venomous in the first place. Santosh has been hospitalized for his snake bite wound and is now recovering.

Russia Today