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Woman finds 6-ft-long cobra found on sleeping son’s pillow in Haryana’s Sultanpur

The cobra was rescued after the mother of two children, who were asleep, woke up to find a snake resting near her son’s pillow around 1am.

Updated on: Sep 24, 2019, 09:25:28 IST
Hindustan Times, Gurugram | By
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A six-feet-long spectacled cobra was rescued by officials of wildlife department from a house in Haryana’s Sultanpur, 15km from Gurugram, on Monday morning.

The reptile, a male cobra weighing 3 kg, was released in Aravallis on September 24 morning. (Sourced)
The reptile, a male cobra weighing 3 kg, was released in Aravallis on September 24 morning. (Sourced)

The reptile, a male cobra weighing 3 kg, was rescued after the mother of two children, who were asleep, woke up to find a snake resting near her son’s pillow around 1am.

Manjali, 39, said she told her husband over phone that a snake had entered the bedroom. She asked him to reach home at the earliest. Her husband, a cab driver, was on his way home.

“My phone’s alarm had rung around 1am. I got up and switched on the lights. I was shocked to find a snake on my son’s pillow,” she said. The mother rushed out of the room and raised an alarm but none of the neighbours responded. “We live in the outskirts of the village and there are only four houses in the area,” said Manjali.

Her husband, Rajesh Kumar, returned home and called a few villagers for help. One of them shared the number of wildlife officials, following which he spoke with one of them and requested him to rush to his house, he said.

Kumar said he tried to move the snake but failed. “My wife was trembling with fear. We woke up my daughter and asked her to go to the drawing room. My son carefully rolled the quilt up, leaving the snake inside it. Our heartbeats stopped and we were unable to make any noise,” he said.

Anil Gandas, a city-based wildlife enthusiast, who led the rescue operation, said he took almost half-an-hour to reach the spot. “The reptile had coiled up inside the blanket. The snake did not move. I picked it up and placed it in a sack,” he said.

  • Leena Dhankhar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Leena Dhankhar

    Leena Dhankhar is Senior Editor and Bureau Chief, Gurugram, at Hindustan Times, where she has spent over 17 years chronicling the transformation of one of India's fastest-growing urban regions. From starting her career as a crime reporter to leading the Gurugram bureau, her journalism has been defined by investigative reporting, in-depth storytelling and an unwavering focus on public interest. Over nearly two decades, she has reported extensively across crime, politics, civic governance, elections, real estate, environment, courts, sports, education and entertainment, covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal. Her reporting has exposed several major scams and systemic failures, including insurance frauds, waste management irregularities, illegal arms manufacturing units in Nuh, illegal mining in the Aravallis, organised crime networks and governance lapses affecting millions of residents. Known for her investigative work and exclusive stories, Leena has reported on high-impact national issues, including the Nicaragua charter flight carrying Indian migrants that was turned back amid allegations of human trafficking, exposing the growing network of illegal immigration rackets. Her work has also focused on gang wars, prison administration, juvenile crime, women and child protection systems, the functioning of the Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee, and environmental challenges such as pollution, waterlogging and deteriorating civic infrastructure. Beyond hard news, Leena has extensively documented Haryana's rich heritage, forests and wildlife, bringing attention to the state's historical landmarks, biodiversity, conservation efforts and ecological challenges through immersive reportage and feature writing. Her journalism has consistently gone beyond breaking news. She has documented Gurugram's rapid urbanisation through long-form narratives and enterprise reporting on issues ranging from pothole-ridden roads, flooding and waste management to the changing social fabric of India's Millennium City. She also writes widely read feature columns, including The Outsider, Changemaker, and Concern for Gurugram, profiling people, places and ideas shaping the city's identity. Leena is the author of Gurugram School Murder, published by Juggernaut Books, a deeply reported account of one of India's most high-profile school murder investigations. She is currently working on her second book, an investigative work exploring some of India's most significant scams and fraud investigations. Beyond print journalism, she has expanded her storytelling through public speaking and digital media. She is a TEDx speaker and has produced podcasts exploring Gurugram's transformation, civic challenges and untold stories. Her work reflects a commitment to narrative journalism that combines rigorous reporting with compelling storytelling. A law graduate with an MBA in Human Resources, Leena brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her reporting, particularly on governance, public policy and legal affairs. She has travelled extensively across India to pursue investigative assignments, often reporting from remote locations and conflict-prone areas in search of stories that matter.Read More