Kottayam: When an Indian cobra slithered its way to a fish tank in the compound of a house at Chungam in Kerala's Kottayam district on Tuesday, all the house owner Ramachandran could think of was to ring West police station, Kottayam, for help. Minutes later he was surprised to see a police control room vehicle halting in front of his house. Are cops being trained in snake catching these days? The family members wondered.
Not all of them, but one among the cops, Muhammad Shebin, a 38-year-old senior civil police officer attached to the Kottayam district police control room, is a licensed snake rescuer and a trained Snake Awareness Rescue and Protection (SARPA) volunteer. Shebin was on traffic duty at Baker junction when the call was directed from Kottayam West police station.
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Accompanied by sub-inspector Kunjumon and civil police officer Sujith, Shebin reached the house. The job was done in less than a minute. He brandished his tools -- a bag and a telescopic baton customised as a rescue hook. The cobra was in no mood for aggression. He picked it up with the hook and showed the mouth of the bag. The snake got in and it was promptly handed over to the Forest SIP unit, Parambuzha. Shebin always carries the bag and rescue hook with him even when he is on official duty.
Shebin's count of snake rescue crossed 600 with the latest mission. He is the only cop in Kerala police who is a certified snake handler. He was part of the first batch of volunteers who were trained in snake rescue by the forest department. After receiving official training, he has rescued around 250 snakes. Shebin, a resident of Changanaserry, was never scared of snakes. ''I used to catch them unscientifically mostly using my hands. Once I received my training, I use the hook. We make sure no pressure is applied on the snake and you handle them like a baby,'' he says.
For Shebin, catching a king cobra or Indian spectacled cobra is relatively easier and less risky than handling an Indian rat snake or a viper. ''Unless you provoke them, king cobra and Indian cobra won't come at you. You can almost say that they are very true snakes. You do your job scientifically and cobra will be inside the bag in no time,'' he says. It doesn't get easy always though. Once he got a call from Kanamala after a family spotted a king cobra on the premises. ''I had to run after the king cobra, they move very fast and it was an uneven terrain. Thankfully we could rescue the snake,'' he says.
Viper is considered very dangerous for snake handlers. Shebin finds the funny side though. ''We call Suryakumar Yadav a 360-degree player. Viper is like that, it may seem like lazily lying in a corner. But the moment it senses danger, it can attack you from any angle. You have to be on your toes while dealing with a viper. It is advisable to wear gumboots and thick trousers while handling viper,'' he says.
Shebin constantly follows journals and interacts with his peers to stay updated on snakes. He also shares his knowledge with his three children -- Thasmiya, Thansiya and Thalbiya, helping them dispel all wrong notions about snakes. His wife, Dr Shajidha, Asst. Professor at Govt Medical College, Ernakulam, is all support for his adventures.
Whenever Shebin receives a call, he tries to learn the nature of the snake. ''We ask for a picture so that we can tell the family whether it is venomous or not. I always try to keep them calm, till we arrive. Whenever you spot a snake, always seek help, you can call the nearest forest station or even 112 for help,'' he says. Shebin is grateful to Muhammad Anwar Yunus, the Assistant conservator of forests with the biodiversity cell and state nodal officer of SARPA for all the training and guidance he received from him.
