29 snakes rescued, 3 held for illegal venom trade

Balasore: Forest officials rescued 29 snakes, including two monocled cobras, from Panchupali area in Balasore district on Wednesday and arrested three persons, including a woman.The accused have been identified as Kamal Lochan Behera of Bhograi, Gouranga Mohanty of Bhelora and Mamata Maharana of Gambaria village.Diganta Sobhan Chand, assistant conservator of forests, Balasore wildlife division, said forest officials raided two houses in Panchupali and rescued the snakes. “We are interrogating the accused to ascertain the exact reason behind keeping so many snakes and if there are other people involved,” he said.Sources said the accused were involved in the illegal trade of snake venom. They would catch snakes from different places in the district and extract their venom, which they sold at a high price. The accused also smuggled some snakes to other states. In addition, they sold the snakes in the local market for Manasa Puja. Maa Manas is considered the goddess of snakes.Subhendu Mallik, general secretary of Snake Helpline, said they had received information about the illegal snake venom trade and informed the forest department.