Passengers at Kota railway station were thrown into panic on Sunday night after reports circulated of a snake inside the AC coach of the Dayodaya Express. The train was travelling from Ajmer to Jabalpur and the information spread before it reached Kota station.
Upon learning about the alleged presence of a snake, several passengers vacated their seats, leading to panic inside the coach. Many passengers remained in fear for nearly two hours. Some informed the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and a snake catcher, prompting the administration to act.
Following the alert, snake catcher Govind Sharma was called to the spot. Sharma said he received information about the presence of a snake in the train at around 7 pm, after which he immediately reached Kota station. The incident is reported to have occurred at around 10 pm on platform number 4.
As soon as the train arrived at Kota station, RPF personnel and the snake catcher began searching the AC coaches. AC Coach 1 and AC Coach 2 were first inspected for about 10 minutes, but no snake was found.
During questioning of passengers, a rubber toy snake measuring about one and a half feet was recovered from a child. The child’s family said he had been playing with the toy, which slipped from his hand and fell under the seat.
A passenger noticed the toy under the seat and mistook it for a real snake. Out of fear, the passenger raised an alarm, leading to rumours of a snake spreading throughout the train.
Govind Sharma said RPF personnel had already been patrolling the train between Sawai Madhopur and Kota while searching for the snake. Keeping passenger safety and convenience in mind, the rail administration had also made additional arrangements at Kota station. After a thorough search of both AC coaches, it was confirmed that there was no real snake on the train.
Following the clarification, passengers were relieved and the train was allowed to proceed on its onward journey.
