Kanpur: Panic erupted inside Chambal Express in Uttar Pradesh late Saturday evening, when four snake charmers disappointed with their on board plays’ earnings released the snakes in the compartment to scare a few passengers they had a heated argument with.
The incident created chaos inside the general compartment for more than 30 minutes as passengers jumped onto upper berths. A few locked themselves inside the washroom to avoid any unwanted confrontation, as per a passenger.
According to the passengers, the performance started soon after the snake charmer flipped the lid of a basket and a snake came out, swaying as they played their gourd flute.
Once the play ended, they asked for money from the passengers.
“Some people gave the money, some denied,” the passenger said. It is not clear how but the snake charmers got into a heated argument with few people who had refused to pay. At one point, they suddenly released the snakes in the compartment,” the passenger added, frightening the life out passengers.
Following the incident a passenger called the railway control room.
Akhilesh Pratap Singh, the officer in-charge of the Government Railway Police at Mahoba station, said they received information about snakes being released in the compartment.
However, the snake charmers caught their reptiles and managed to get off the train before it entered the Mahoba station, a station after Banda.
“We spoke to the passengers at Mahoba railway station and they confirmed the incident. The snakes did not bite any passenger but did cause significant distress,” Singh said.
Though security personnel did conduct a thorough check across the compartment – and the adjacent ones – but the snake charmers hadn’t left any reptiles behind.
PNN & Agencies
