Greater Noida cop rescues 8-foot long python from Pari Chowk

It was just another day at work for police sub-inspector Devendra Rathi, who single-handedly caught an 8-foot-long Indian rock python that had managed to slither inside a moving truck at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida in the early hours of Friday.

“As the forest department team was taking time to reach the spot, and the python came out of the truck in an aggressive manner, I somehow managed to catch it using a rope and sack,” said Rathi.

A video of the daring rescue was widely shared on social media platforms, with people praising SI Rathi for his bravery.

Rathi, who is the in-charge of the Pari Chowk police outpost, said, “On Friday around 12.40am, when I was on routine duty and patrolling near Pari Chowk, I received a panicked call from the control room that a huge python was spotted near Pari Chowk U-turn.”

“Without wasting any time, I and my colleagues, who were patrolling along with me, rushed to the spot and found a 8-foot long python that just then slithered into the cabin of a truck which came that way, ” said Rathi.

”We alerted the forest control room, but they were taking time to reach the spot. The python soon came out of the truck cabin in an aggressive manner,” he said.

“I decided to catch it before it could escape pose a risk to nearby residents. With the help of a rope and a sack, our team managed to rescue the snake without hurting it.” added Rathi.

The entire episode was over in around one-and-a-half hours but by then, vehicles had started queuing up at the spot besides onlookers, affecting traffic flow near Pari Chowk.

The SI said, “The python was later handed over to the forest department when they reached the spot around 2am.”

A senior police officer said, “Truck driver Rambabu, 35, a resident of Jahangirabad in Bulandshahr, was heading to Kasna in Greater Noida from Delhi’s Narela along with his cousin to deliver plastic granules. They spotted the python slithering inside the truck cabin, from the co-driver’s side, just as they were about to take a U-turn from Pari Chowk to Kasna.”

“As soon as they spotted it, Rambabu stopped the truck in the middle of the road and dialled the police emergency number 112,” said SI Rathi.

“I never caught any snake in my life, but we have seen how snakes are rescued by wildlife personnel and we successfully used the same trick to nab the constrictor.”

District forest official, Ghaziabad, Manish Singh, who has additional charge of the Gautam Budh Nagar forest department, said, “The python is a rock python, and as soon as we received information, our team rushed to the spot. But we received information late.”

Noida forest department regional officer Prashant Kumar said, “The python weighed around 40 kilos and was 8-foot long. It will be released into the Surajpur wetland on Saturday.”