Chambal, Uttar Pradesh

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Four snake charmers released their snakes in a compartment of the Chambal Express in Uttar Pradesh after a heated argument with the passengers over their earnings after their performance. 

The snake charmers boarded the Chambal Express, which operates between Howrah and Gwalior, on September 9 at Banda station, a passenger named Dheeraj Kumar told Hindustan Times. Kumar, a resident of Malakoura village in Mahoba district, said they opened the lid of their baskets from which the snakes emerged and started their performance. They played their gourd flute and swayed the snakes. 

After the performance, they asked the passengers for money. "Some people gave the money, while some refused," said Kumar. When some people refused to pay the snake charmers, they got into a heated argument.

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Amid the fray, they suddenly released the snakes in the train compartment to scare the passengers. Many people scrambled to get onto the upper berths. Some passengers also hid inside the washroom until the nightmare ended. Later, someone contacted the Railway control room. 

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Akhilesh Pratap Singh, the officer in charge of the Railway Police Force (RPF) at Mahoba station, said the railway control room informed them about the snakes. 

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However, after about an hour, the snake charmers eventually caught the snakes and got off the train moments before it entered the Mahoba station, the next stop after Banda. 

"We spoke to the passengers at the Mahoba railway station, and they confirmed the incident. Although the snakes did not harm any passengers, there was significant distress in the train compartment," said Singh.

Security personnel also considered a comprehensive search of the train coaches to ensure the safety of the passengers. However, the snake charmers did not leave anything behind. After the RPF completed the probe, the train headed towards Gwalior and continued its journey.

Although snake charming is almost extinct, it still exists in India. 

In August 2023, the police arrested two snake charmers in Gurugram for posing as priests and shoving snakes through car windows and auto-rickshaws at traffic signals to rob commuters. 

Snake charmers usually get on trains with non-venomous snakes like pythons wrapped around themselves or in baskets and threaten to set them loose. When caught, the police book them under Section 145 (creating nuisance) and Section 147 (trespassing) of the Railways Act.

(With inputs from agencies)

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