The ward chairman of Turmakhand Rural Municipality-4 in Achham district tried to downplay the death of 18-year-old Parbati Budha due to snake bite while in menstrual exile or Chhaupadi. Parbati died after she was bitten by a snake inside Chhaupadi hut on Saturday night.But Kabiram Budha, the ward chairman of Turmakhand-4, has claimed that Parbati was not observing Chhaupadi when she was bitten by the snake. He said that Parbati was asleep in her home with her sister at the time of the incident. Kabiram’s claim, however, does not corroborate with the witness’s statement.Radhika Budha, who was sharing the Chhaupadi hut with Parbati, said the snake had dropped from the roof of the hut before biting Parbati’s finger. Radhika also said that Parbati died for want of treatment. Chhaupadi is a practice in which menstruating and postpartum women are deemed impure and forced to live in seclusion.Although it was criminalised in August, 2017, it still prevails in remote areas of western Nepal.Thirteen Chhaupadi-related deaths have been reported in Achham in the past 12 years.