Representative image showing a man holding a python.
Credit: iStock Photo
Pathanamthitta (Kerala): A tippler, who caught hold of a python from a wayside canal here and wrapped it around his neck under the influence of liquor, has landed in trouble as forest officials registered a case against him on Monday.
The man put the local people in a tizzy in front of a bar near Adoor in the district on Sunday.
Local people believed that the python ended up in the town after being carried away by the flood waters.
The visuals of the man, a local tapioca seller, taking the python from a canal and sitting on the pavement and wrapping it around his neck, went viral on social media platforms.
He could be seen patting on its hood and allowing others to touch the snake.
In the visuals, some people could be heard warning him not to take the snake and leave it in the canal.
Based on the information received, Adoor police took the man and the snake into custody on Sunday and shifted them to the station.
"The wildlife officials later reached there and took them to the nearby forest station. A case was registered against the man under the relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act," a senior forest official said on Monday.
The python was shifted to an animal rescue centre in Konni and it would be released in the forest based on a court order in this regard, he said.
The man would be produced before a magistrate later in the day, the officer added.