A man in India bit a snake after it attacked him, resulting in the snake’s death.

The 35-year-old railway worker, Santosh Lohar was working in a forested region near the city of Nawada in Bihar, India when the incident occurred on Tuesday evening.

When Lohar went to sleep, the reptile suddenly attacked him. He reacted by rapidly seizing the snake and biting it back twice, killing the creature.

In some parts of India, there is a superstition that biting a snake transfers the venom back to the reptile.

“In my village, there’s a belief that if a snake bites you, you must bite it back twice to neutralize the venom,” Lohar told India Today. The species of snake that bit him has not been confirmed.

After the bite, Lohar was rushed to the hospital by his colleagues.

He was kept overnight and responded well to treatment, the Times of India reported, indicating he had been given antivenom. He was discharged from the hospital the next day.

India is home to a diverse range of snake species, including several that are highly venomous. Some of the country’s most dangerous snakes include the Indian cobra (also known as the spectacled cobra), the common krait, the Russell’s viper, and the saw-scaled viper.