The Bangalore Rural police registered a case against a reptile exporter from Udupi on Friday. Nandagudi police booked Gururaj Sanil after he conducted a snake show at a government school in Hoskote. Volunteers from the BBMP forest cell have approached Maneka Gandhi, former union minister for environment, after they received life threats from villagers on Thursday.

The incident took place in a village near Hoskote. Acting on a tip-off that the snake show had been organized, the BBMP team raided the school. The snake show had no permission from the forest department and the snakes were carried into the school without any valid certificates. The BBMP team faced stiff opposition from the villagers and school authorities, who wanted to tie up the volunteers to a tree. The police entered the scene right on time and released the volunteers.

“They approached Mrs Gandhi, who in turn ensured that a case is taken up against Gururaj. Mrs. Gandhi also spoke to Bengaluru Rural district in-charge minister and Hoskote MLA B.N. Bachche Gowda,” a BBMP volunteer said. He said, “Even forest department officials were banned from entering the village. Accused Gururaj had brought nearly a dozen snakes, including an Indian rock pit, protected under the Schedule 1 of Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.” A police officer from Nandagudi station said both the accused and snakes had returned to Udupi.