Shikha Moni, a six-year-old girl, died after being bitten by a snake in the Genda Bottola area of Bank Town, Savar, Dhaka, due to the unavailability of antivenom. The incident occurred on Tuesday (December 9) around 12:30 pm. She was later taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in an unconscious state around 8:00 pm, where doctors declared her dead.
Shikha Moni’s grandmother, Shahnaz Begum, said her granddaughter, the only child of Jesmin Akter, was dearly loved. “Around noon, she was playing near the house with other children in the grass when suddenly a snake bit her on her left leg,” she recalled.
Shahnaz Begum added that they first took Shikha Moni to Savar Upazila Health Complex. “The doctor there gave her some medicine and instructed us to administer it twice daily, assuring us she would recover. We brought her home, but her condition worsened. Then we took her to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar, where the doctor advised us to take her immediately to Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital in Dhaka,” she said.
She further said that at Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital, doctors informed them that antivenom was unavailable. They then rushed her to a hospital in Mohakhali, where again there was no antivenom. Finally, they took her to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared her dead upon arrival.
Shahnaz Begum mentioned that her granddaughter was physically disabled. “Despite traveling to multiple hospitals from Savar to Dhaka, we could not obtain antivenom. We could not save her,” she said.
Inspector Md. Faruk, in charge of the DMCH police camp, confirmed the death and said the body has been kept in the morgue. The relevant police station has been informed.