Shimla: A 10-foot-long king cobra rescued from a house in Paonta Sahib on Sept 28 has been safely released into Khara forest after being kept under observation by forest department.The video of the snake rescue has gone viral on social media. The snake had entered the house of one Gurbaksh Singh near a petrol pump on Bankua-Jamniwala Road in Paonta Sahib on Sept 28.Its presence inside the household toilet triggered panic among family and nearby residents. On being alerted, local snake rescuer Bhupender Singh reached the spot and safely rescued the reptile before handing it over to forest department.Bhupender Singh (49), popularly known as ‘Snake Man’ and hailing from Mohali in Punjab, has been living in Paonta Sahib for nearly three decades and claims to have rescued hundreds of snakes, with the aim of saving them rather than killing them. “I am a contractor with a pharmaceutical company in Paonta Sahib and also teach Gatka (traditional Sikh martial art) in Gurdwara Paonta Sahib,” Bhupender told TOI.He has been rescuing snakes for 27 years, including various venomous species like the king cobra, Russell’s viper and common krait. After catching the reptiles, he hands them over to forest department, which has also provided him a professional snake-catching kit.
