Police seize 10 feet long python from snake charmer

Kendrapada, Jun 3 (UNI) The Derabish police today seized a 10 feet long python from a snake charmer camping at Chasakhandi village, while conducting raid in another case.

Police have also seized nylon nets,cooked meat of water monitor from his possession,police said.

The snake charmer, who identified himself as Gopal Pradha, told the police that he had collected the python from Mahanadi river at Cuttack.

He confessed that the reptiles captured by him were being sent to Kolkata for collection of venom for money. After collecting venom from the viper, Gopal used to sell the reptile to the snake charmers.

On being interrogated, Gopal further said in the past he had trapped mongoose, water monitor, wild boar, endangered migratory bird species and vipers using nets in the forest areas and then smuggled them to the West Bengal.

According the Derabish Police station officer in charge, the rescued 10-feet-long python is four years old. It was later handed over to wildlife activist Biraja Prasad Pati who said the reptile would be given to the Division Forest Officer of Bhitarkanika National Park for releasing it inside the forest area.

A week back, some teenaged youths under the banner of ''Banarsena'' rescued an 8.5 feet long python from a snake charmer in Mahipal village under the Kendrapara municipality area and handed over the python to the forest officials so that it could be released in the wild.

UNI