diff --git a/src/nrnpython/nrnpy_p2h.cpp b/src/nrnpython/nrnpy_p2h.cpp
index 7fe64b5f55..93ae0e3435 100644
--- a/src/nrnpython/nrnpy_p2h.cpp
+++ b/src/nrnpython/nrnpy_p2h.cpp
@@ -165,7 +165,6 @@ static void py2n_component(Object* ob, Symbol* sym, int nindex, int isfunc) {
         }
         tail = nb::steal(PyRun_String(sym->name, Py_eval_input, main_namespace, main_namespace));
     } else {
-        head.inc_ref();
         if (strcmp(sym->name, "_") == 0) {
             tail = head;
         } else {