Snake charmers impersonating ‘Sadhus’ arrested for robbery

Two snake charmers have been apprehended on charges of assuming the guise of ‘sadhus’ and conducting robberies through the use of intimidating snakes, as announced by the police on Monday.

The duo engaged in a spree of robbing commuters, who were either in cars or auto rickshaws, by releasing snakes near them at various traffic signals, as detailed by law enforcement officials.

Upon investigation, the police retrieved two snakes from the suspects’ possession and subsequently transferred the reptiles to the Wildlife Department.

The two individuals involved, namely Rohit Nath (22) and Shakib Nath (26), were presented before a city court and remanded to judicial custody on Saturday.

The incident was brought to light when a 36-year-old individual named Sadya Wani approached the Sector 53 Police Station. She recounted an encounter where two individuals dressed as ‘sadhus’ unleashed snakes upon her and made off with Rs 2,000.

As per her statement, the occurrence transpired around 10:30 on a Friday while she was traveling in an auto-rickshaw.

Allegedly, the pair disguised as ‘sadhus’ approached her near Sushant Estates in Sector 52, during a momentary halt at a traffic signal. Wani, a resident of Ansal Sushant Estates, disclosed, “The two men set snakes on me and managed to extract Rs 2,000 from my purse when I had taken it out to provide them with a coin. Although they hastily fled the scene, the incident left me traumatized, leading me to seek help from the police.”

Subsequently, Rohit and Shakib were charged under sections 392 (robbery) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code on Friday, culminating in their arrest on Saturday.

Elaborating on the operation, Sector 53 Police Station SHO Rajender Singh revealed, “The suspects would travel from Delhi to Gurugram, execute robberies by displaying snakes at various points within the city, and then retreat to Delhi.”

The arrest of these individuals brings an end to their alleged spree of robberies carried out through the exploitation of snakes to evoke fear and compliance.

(With PTI inputs)