<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />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.”<br /><br />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.</p>
<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />“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.<br /><br />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.”<br /><br />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.</p>
