Should Wildlife Act be enforced on Pahadishareef offenders?

Snakes are commonly used as baits to terrorise people

A rigid tenant Agarwal in Afzalgunj terminated his lease early after a guest heard a snake hissing in his wall. The tenant had been troubling the owner as he was a litigant. He kept on scaring the GHMC, the police and anybody who requested him to vacate the apartments, causing inconvenience to other tenants.

Agarwal reported twice that a snake could be heard hissing and moving around inside the wall of his spare room.

This was the last trick in the kitty of the Shetty family, whom Agarwal was harassing for the last 15 years and was not vacating their flat.

On the advice of a friend, the Shettys, with the help of a snake charmer, slipped two snakes in the flat of Agarwal.

“Snakes are scary and also a sign of bad omen. So we used this method to force Agarwal to vacate the flat,” said Shetty.

In 2011, Hakkul, an unhappy snake charmer in Uttar Pradesh, unleashed his reptiles in a tax office protesting against the alleged demand for bribes from officials.

Fear of snakes is one of the most common phobias. So how is this fear generated? New research suggests humans have evolved an innate tendency to sense snakes - and spiders too - and to learn to fear them. Snakes inspire disgust in many people and downright terror in others. In fact, snake phobia, or ophidiophobia, is one of the most common phobias on earth. Now psychology researchers studying toddlers say that avoiding snakes may be an evolutionary adaptation that’s slithered its way into our genes.

“Using snakes to scare tenants or force somebody to sell their premises is an ancient practice in villages,” says Nawab Shafat Ali, a wildlife shooter. “In most villages in India, people let a snake or two in an individual’s house who needs to vacate or sell. The snake charmer is made to wait near the premises. Out of fear or considering it a bad omen, people vacate immediately,” he added.

The various articles of the modus operandi of the Barkas gang scaring couples in Jallepally in Pahadishareef of Cyberabad leaves any intelligent person to ponder as to why they did not use any modern weapon. This group was into settlements, terrorising couples in the farm house nearby and raping the innocent. They used snakes to create fear and terrorise the victims.

Faisal Dayyani and two others were regular offenders in Pahadishareef. But where did these boys borrow this idea? Why is the police not looking at booking them under the Wildlife Act, 1972? The government enacted the comprehensive legislation with the objective of effective control by poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and its products. A minimum of three years imprisonment extendable to seven years and a minimum fine of Rs 10,000 is the punishment.