Navi Mumbai: Actor Salman Khan was bitten on the hand by a snake at his farmhouse in Panvel in the early hours of Sunday. He was rushed to MGM Hospital, Kamothe, by his bodyguards, where he was treated and discharged after six hours of observation. The snake was reportedly non-venomous. Khan went to his farmhouse for the holiday season and also to celebrate his birthday, which falls on December 27.

After his discharge around 9am, the actor returned to Arpita Farms, named after his sister. It is in a forested area, which is a 30-minute drive from the Kamothe hospital. “Khan informed us that after he spotted the snake inside his farmhouse, he used a stick to lift it to ensure it was not harmed. He wanted to release it in the forest, but before that the snake bit him on the hand,” said the hospital’s administrator Dr Kuldeep Salgotra. “He was brought in at 3.10 am for treatment.”

The doctor said Khan was admitted in the casualty ward, but isolated from other patients to prevent crowding around him. “Khan’s bodyguards had brought along the snake, enabling us to identify if it was venomous or not. Though a snake expert was summoned to identify it, our medical team did not waste time and immediately started the line of treatment prescribed for snakebites. A clinical assessment was carried out by sending his blood sample for analysis on the possibility of venom in it and also its clotting percentage.”

Ulhas Thakur, a snake expert from Panvel said the reptile was eventually identified as a Wolf Snake, which is non-venomous. “But it resembled a Krait, which is venomous.”