RAIPUR: Stung by superstition, a family lost its five-month-old newborn when they handed her to a

charmer in

, seeking

'. The cobra bit the infant, but he told them it wasn't poisonous and kept doing the rituals for two hours while the baby's breathing kept getting shallower. By the time they took her to hospital, she was beyond help.

Police say a snake charmer, Billu Ram Markam, turned up at their doorstep and asked them to give the baby for "blessings of 'naag devta'." Since the baby wasn't keeping well, the parents gave in. To the family's shock, Billu put the snake around the baby's neck where it coiled up and bit her. He told them that he had defanged the snake.

The neighbours nabbed Billu and handed him to the police.