Sign in

Gang using reptiles to rob terrorised motorists busted in Gurugram, snake charmers arrested

2 non-venomous snakes were seized from the suspects, who have been handed over to wildlife authorities. The charmers had been involved in similar cases before.

Updated on: Aug 21, 2023, 02:00:45 IST
By , Gurugram
Share
Share via
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
Copy link
  • copy link

Two snake charmers were arrested for allegedly posing as priests and shoving snakes through car windows and auto rickshaws at traffic signals to rob terrorised commuters travelling to Gurugram from Delhi, police said on Sunday.

The guard called a snake charmer for help after three snakes were spotted at a government school in Haibowal Khurd. (HT Photo)
The guard called a snake charmer for help after three snakes were spotted at a government school in Haibowal Khurd. (HT Photo)

Read here: Devendra Fadnavis' wife Amruta poses with reptiles; photos viral

Police said that the two were arrested from Ghata Road in Gurugram’s Sector 55 on Saturday. Two snakes were also seized from the possession of the arrested suspects identified as Rohit Nath (22) and Sakib Nath (26). Police said that both the snakes were non-venomous and were handed over to wildlife authorities for necessary action.

According to the police, the two men’s activity came to light when a woman reached Sector 52 police station on Friday and submitted a complaint alleging that two sages terrorised her using snakes and forcibly took away 2,000 from her wallet.

Sadya Wani (36), the victim, had alleged that she was travelling in an auto-rickshaw when the two suspects wearing clothes of priests approached her and asked for money near Sushant Estates in Sector 52 around 10.30am on Friday. At that time, the auto-rickshaw had halted at a traffic signal. Police said Wani alleged that the two soon set the snakes on her and pulled a 2,000 from her wallet that she had opened to give them a coin.

Wani, a resident of Ansal Sushant Estates in Sector 52 who was left terrorised by the incident, got an FIR registered under sections 34 (common intention) and 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code.

Inspector Rajender Singh, station house officer of the Sector 53 police station where the case was registered, said the suspects used to travel from Delhi to Gurugram and return after robbing commuters at different locations in the Millennium City.

Read here: Swollen Ganga leads to crocodiles entering Haridwar's residential areas

“They had earlier robbed some commuters in a similar fashion, for which an FIR was registered against them last year. Besides, they were also involved in a theft case. Further investigation is on to ascertain if they were involved in such cases in Delhi too,” he said.

  • Debashish Karmakar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Debashish Karmakar

    Debashish Karmakar is a principal correspondent with the Hindustan Times, Gurugram bureau. He has a vast journalistic experience of almost 14 years of covering crime, court, power, transport, administration, weather and other beats while working across various organisations. He has been covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh, Palwal and other districts of southern Haryana for more than four and a half years. He has produced several breaking and exclusive stories while reporting from the ground where he maintains a strong presence on a daily basis. He writes news articles which are hard-hitting and accurate. With his strong bureaucratic sources, he frequently writes stories to expose the failure of the system forcing authorities to take necessary course-corrective steps. Besides crime, important convictions and court orders, he also writes on human-angle stories, on power issues and challenges faced by the residents on a daily basis in Gurugram and neighbouring areas. In the past, he worked for media houses like The Times of India, where he extensively reported on important government matters and daily proceedings at the Patna High Court. He has also worked in the electronic media and had done ground coverage on the Kedarnath deluge that wrecked Uttarakhand in 2013.Read More