THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Central Prison, Poojappura, had an unexpected guest on Wednesday; a six-feet- long cobra. The snake, which crawled into the prison premises around 11.30 am, had a nap near the cow-shed, which is located in the lower part of the prison compound.
There is also a small pond near the cow-shed. “We saw the cobra near the cow-shed when we were about to inspect it,” said the prison Superintendent, B Pradeep. The prison officers did not opt for the easy way out - having it killed by the inmates - to deal with the strange guest. “Why should we force the inmates to do one more crime?” asked Pradeep. Instead, they thought about the safe and harmless way; calling Vava Suresh, the catcher-cum-friend of the limbless reptiles.
By the time Suresh arrived, the cobra had found asylum in a tree hollow.
Suresh befriended the snake with his usual tricks; a few gestures with fingers, and the cobra fell before him within seconds. But Suresh was not satisfied with that. He did a demonstration with the snake by handling it like a toy. Finally, he took the cobra with him in a sack.
However, the newcomers in the Prison - the two Italian marines who were brought on Monday night, did come to know about the visit of the guest. They were in a calm mood on Wednesday, after Tuesday’s arguments and complaints about the lack of facilities in the prison and demand for relocation.