Coimbatore’s popular snake charmer 'Pambu Murugan' dies

The city’s renowned snake charmer, ‘Pambu Murugan,’ who had reportedly captured nearly 20,000 snakes and saved several lives in the last three decades, died here on Tuesday.

He was bedridden for the last two days due to ill-health and he died this morning, his family said.

Popularly known as ‘Pambu Murugan,’ (Snake Murugan) the 52-year-old started catching snakes, as a passion, at the age of 12, which later became his profession and in the last 35 years, he had reportedly captured over 20,000 snakes, including most venomous ones, family sources said.

Services of Murugan were requisitioned in Government offices, police department, schools and educational institutions to capture venomous snakes like Cobra and Viper.

In the process, he had also saved many human lives, they said.

A venomous snake had bitten Murugan in 2012, while he was attempting to bring it out from a hole. Subsequently, he was hospitalised and the district administration helped him to recover, by extending both financial and medical aid at the Government Hospital here.

He used to release his catch to the jungles or hand them over to the forest department and never harmed or killed the snakes, the sources said.

Murugan used to take anti-venom treatment at regular intervals, to prevent poison entering his veins, fearing death, they said.
He is survived by wife and two children.