Woman with cobra creates flutter near Tambaram

Police are searching for an elderly woman, probably belonging to the Irula community, who is roaming around in suburban Chennai with a cobra snake, creating a flutter among residents. Kept in a closed basket, the woman occasionally takes the cobra out to impress the residents and even lets it out free and collects money or clothes from the scared residents.

The woman, aged around 70, on Wednesday morning reached Mappedu near Tambaram with the cobra and visited every house and showed the snake and asked money from the residents for buying milk and eggs for the snake. She also set the snake free leaving the residents a bit scared. It is not clear if she is using the snake to extort money as many residents prefer to give her money fearing the snake might enter the house.

After allowing the cobra to show its serpentine movement, the woman will catch the snake and keep it back in the basket. When the locals enquired, the woman said she was from Villupuram and came to visit her son who lives in Tambaram but in vain. The woman was not ready to tell from where she got the snake but said the teeth of the snake were removed so it would not harm anyone.

However, the locals informed the Selaiyur police and the forest department. When she came to know that police may create trouble for her, the woman escaped. Since it is an offence under the Wildlife Act, the police and the forest department are trying to trace the elderly woman with the help of CCTV.