Two cobras rescued from Bhondsi village

Both snakes were released in the Aravalli forest on Saturday morning after they were rescued.

In two separate incidents on Friday, two spectacled cobras entered two houses in Maruti Kunj Colony in Bhondsi, 13 kilometres from the city, giving the residents of the area a sleepless night.

One snake was rescued from under the bed of one of the houses, the other one was found hiding in the storeroom of another. (HT PHOTO)

Rescue operations began at 1 am and continued till 3 am. While one of the snakes was rescued from under the bed of one of the houses, the other one was found hiding in the storeroom of another. Both the snakes were released into the Aravallis on Saturday morning, said wildlife officials.

Around 12:30 am on Friday, the wildlife guard received a call from Sushma Sharma and another one at 1:25 am from Ankit Thakur, both residents of Maruti Kunj, complaining that they had spotted snakes in their houses struggling to find their way out to the open. Both the houses are situated next to vacant plots.

The first snake was spotted by Sushma Sharma, wife of Mintu Sharma, an IT executive. Sharma said that he received a call from his wife on Friday night when he was at his office. She woke up at night to drink water. When she returned to her bedroom, she spotted the cobra near the bed.

“She immediately called me, and I, in turn, informed our neighbours. Although they tried to rescue the snake, they failed, after which they contacted the wildlife officials,” Sharma said.

“I received a call from Sharma, who spotted the cobra, at around 1 am, and she seemed frightened. She asked me to reach her house at the earliest. The area was surrounded by several residents and they all seemed panic-stricken,” said Anil Gandas, a wildlife enthusiast, who led the rescue operation.

A three-member team comprising Gandas, inspector Sunil Kumar, and wildlife guard Krishna Kumar reached the spot. “There was a huge crowd when we got there. The snake was resting under the bed. Not a single word escaped the residents, who silently watched the whole rescue operation,” Gandas said. The three-foot-long snake even tried to attack the members of the rescue team as they tried to catch it.

The other snake at Thakur’s house was a two-and-a-half-foot-long cobra. It was hiding in the store room of the house. Thakur, who returned from work late at night, was removing his shoes, when he spotted the snake near a shoe rack. “We suspect the snakes came from the neighbouring Aravalli forest,” Gandas said.

The snakes were kept under observation to check if they had any injuries and were later released into the forest under the supervision of wildlife officials, on Saturday morning.