On Tuesday, Bhuvachandran Nair was cutting off bushes at a college campus in Thiruvananthapuram when he saw something resembling a spotted cloth. The 58-year-old, along with a few other workers, was present at Kerala Institute of Management in Neyyar in Thiruvananthapuram to clean up the grounds as part of a MNREGA work scheme. While he was working, Bhuvanachandran walked up to what he thought was a harmless piece of cloth that was to be cleared. However, when he went closer, he realised it was a large python — about 10 feet long.
Bhuvanachandran then called some of his fellow workers over for help. They decided to capture the snake, put it in a sack and remove it from the area.
However, the python was too quick for them. The moment Bhuvanachandran tried to put it inside a sack, it crawled up his body and wrapped itself around his neck, holding him in a tight grip. Though around 55 workers were present at the spot and raised an alarm, many hesitated to come forward to help him, looking at the snake’s length.
However, some co-workers rushed to free him — some held the snake’s head, others tried to pull it off him by its tail.
But the python tightened its grip in defence and Bhuvanachandran began to cough and stagger. A video of the incident, captured on a mobile phone by a bystander, shows three-four people trying to pull the python off his body.
Then, a black cloth was used to cover the python’s head as two people tried to pry the reptile off. Finally, the python relented and Bhuvanachandran was freed.
With everyone’s timely intervention, the snake was put in a sack and later handed over to the forest officials. The forest officials in Neyyar later stated that the python had been freed into a forest area nearby.
Meanwhile, Bhuvanachandran was taken to a hospital nearby after he complained of pain in his neck. He was given basic treatment and discharged.