Two individuals pretending to be priests have been apprehended for their alleged involvement in a scheme where they inserted snakes through car windows and auto-rickshaws at traffic signals to intimidate and rob distressed commuters travelling from Delhi to Gurugram, as per the police’s statement on Sunday. Here is what the snake charmer gang did.

The arrest took place on Saturday along Ghata Road in Gurugram’s Sector 55. The detainees, identified as Rohit Nath (22) and Sakib Nath (26), were found in possession of two non-venomous snakes. The snakes were subsequently handed over to wildlife authorities for appropriate action.

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The police narrative reveals that the fraudulent activities of the two men came to light when a woman approached the Sector 52 police station on Friday to report an incident. The victim, Sadya Wani (36), alleged that two individuals, dressed as priests, used snakes to intimidate her and forcibly took ₹2,000 from her wallet.

Wani’s account:

According to Wani’s account, the incident occurred while she was travelling in an auto-rickshaw that had stopped at a traffic signal near Sushant Estates in Sector 52 around 10.30 am on Friday. The two snake charmer approached her, soliciting money, and then unleashed the snakes on her. In the confusion, they managed to take ₹2,000 from her wallet, which she had opened to give them a coin.

Wani, a resident of Ansal Sushant Estates in Sector 52, reported the incident to the authorities. This resulted in the registration of a First Information Report (FIR). Sections 34 (pertaining to common intention) and 392 (related to robbery) of the Indian Penal Code were attracted.

Inspector Rajender Singh, the station house officer of Sector 53 police station, stated. The snake charmer employed this method to prey on commuters in various locations within Gurugram. They were traveling back and forth from Delhi.

“They had earlier robbed some commuters in a similar fashion, for which an FIR was registered against them last year. Besides, they were also involved in a theft case. Further investigation is on to ascertain if they were involved in such cases in Delhi too,” he said.