The deceased is Manju Prakash (Left)

BENGALURU: A 41-year-old private firm employee allegedly died after being bitten by a snake in his house at Ranganatha Layout, Bannerghatta, in Bengaluru Rural Friday night. The deceased is Manju Prakash. Preliminary probe suggested that the snake was hiding in one of his shoes that had been left outside the house. Unaware of the reptile, Manju wore the shoe and stepped out Friday evening. He later returned home and went to bed as usual. On Saturday morning, a friend who visited Manju’s house noticed a dead snake inside the shoe. He alerted the family members, who tried to wake Manju up, only to find him unresponsive. Family members suspect that a viper (locally called mandala haavu) had bitten his hallux. Manju had lost sensation in his leg following an accident a couple of years ago. His family believes this could be the reason he did not feel the pain of the bite and failed to seek medical help. The venom is suspected to have spread through his body while he slept. Bannerghatta police said Manju’s friend filed a complaint, following which a case of unnatural death was registered. “We are not sure which snake bit Manju. We have sought expert opinion. The body was subjected to postmortem and handed over to the family Saturday. Though there are marks of a snake bite on his hallux, we will wait for the official report,” a senior officer said. Manju is survived by his wife, children, and parents.