The only hassle that seems to exist in the whole exercise is that he wants to carry bagfuls of snakes with him while going to prison.
Sitting amid venomous snakes in his hut at Bairagal village in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district, Hakkul, the snake charmer, who had recently let loose scores of snakes inside a “tehsil” (town area) in an attempt to protest against the failure of the officials to allot him a piece of land, now dares the state police to arrest him.
A case had been already registered against him under different sections of the IPC and the police have also warned that he will be punished according to law.
“I am ready to go to jail but with me my 175 snakes will also go. Where will I leave them? Who will take care of them in my absence,” an infuriated Hakkul asks.
An unrepentant Hakkul, giving vent to his anger on the “corrupt” revenue officials, said that he had paid a bribe of Rs 1,500 to the “lekhpal” (revenue clerk) for allotting a piece of land to him on lease for “keeping snakes.”
The snakes are very dear to Hakkul. “I want to make sure that no harm comes to them. It is for their upkeep that I want a piece of land,” he said.