Mumbai jail infested with snakes, 2 caught in 15 days

Mumbai’s Taloja jail, which houses around 2,000 inmates, has special guests and they are certainly not welcome.

Mumbai’s Taloja jail, which houses around 2,000 inmates, has special guests and they are certainly not welcome.

One of the snakes found inside the jail. (HT)

In the past 15 days, two snakes have been found – one in the kitchen and one near the main entrance – on the premises.

Raju Pore, 35, the jail guard, who caught the snakes and released them into the wild, said, “A 10-year-old daughter of one of our officials died in 2012 after a snake bite. That was a wake-up call for us. Since then, we have so far found around 500 snakes such as Rock Python, Indian Cobra, Gonar, Maniar, Dhamin, Erura (water snake) on the premises and have released them. Five snakes have been spotted this year itself.”

In 2015, Pore caught a Rock Python weighing 50kg in the jail. Another Rock Python weighing 45kg was found three months ago. An Indian Cobra was rescued from a constable’s house on the third floor in February. Another Maniar (venomous) snakes was found at a training centre in March.

“The Taloja jail is surrounded by hills and forest. We started housing inmates here in 2008. Spotting snakes is a common thing around the jail,” said an official. “There is a small forest area inside the jail. Moreover, snakes enter through drains, sewage pipes and main entrances.”