Uttar Pradesh (India) state official official claims that two farmers, one of whom moonlights as a snake charmer, decided to respond to bribery demands by emptying three bags of snakes, some of them extremely poisonous, in a busy tax office.
Ramsukh Sharma said that the bags contained around 40 snakes of varying size and species – there were at least four cobras. As the snakes hit the floor, the clerks and villagers in the room either left (if they were close enough to the door) or jumped onto tables.
Their grievance: the two farmers claim that they had requested tax records for their land in a nearby village – but had been left waiting for weeks as the officials demanded bribes.
Fortunately for all concerned nobody was injured in the incident and all of the snakes were recovered. The police have yet to catch up with the farmers in question.
The moral of the story: never try to shakedown a snake charmer.
