Latest news with #Kaa
New Indian Express
21-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Rs 11.26 crore snakebite death scam unearthed in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni, land of Jungle Book's Kaa
BHOPAL: In Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district -- famous as the land of The Jungle Book's serpent Kaa -- a man 'died' 30 times and a woman 29 times due to snake bites in a scam to siphon off public money running into crores. The alleged scam worth around Rs 11.26 crore was carried out by faking snakebite, drowning and lightning related deaths in official records to claim compensation from the state government. A detailed probe conducted by the finance department from Jabalpur, which began with the scrutiny of bills of Keolari tehsil of Seoni district, led to the unearthing of the scam. 'A scam worth Rs 11.26 crore has come to the fore, following the investigations. The embezzled Rs 11.26 crore was credited into the bank accounts of 47 people,' joint director (finance) Rohit Kaushal, who led the year-long probe, said on Wednesday. The man who is believed to have authored the entire scam, Assistant Grade III Sachin Dahayak, transferred the amount into the accounts of his family, friends and acquaintances. The public money was transferred to personal accounts instead of directly going to the beneficiary accounts, which establishes that the embezzlement was done in a planned and organized manner. The scam, which reportedly happened between 2018-19 to 2021-22, saw many of those shown in government records as deceased due to snakebites, drowning and lightning, 'die' multiple times particularly due to the venomous bites of serpents. A man named Ramesh was shown in the records of Keolari tehsil to have 'died' 30 times from snakebite, while Dwarika Bai 'died' 29 times and Ram Kumar 28 times. The maximum Rs 4 lakh compensation is paid to the families of those who lose their loved ones due to natural calamities like snakebite, drowning, lightning, etc. 'During the year-long probe conducted on the order of the finance department, we scrutinized all bills related to financial assistance released for natural calamities, like snakebites. The probe has revealed embezzlement of Rs 11.26 crore. Death certificates and autopsy reports of those shown dead in the records of the Keolari tehsil, weren't made available to our team, despite repeated requests,' the joint director (finance) Rohit Kaushal said. The probe has revealed that bills of those shown dead due to snakebites and drowning in the records were passed without death certificates, post-mortem reports and police verification. The Rs 11.26 crore embezzled through the scam was credited into the accounts of 47 people, including 46 private persons and one government employee. The probe also revealed that staff at the Keolari tehsil took advantage of shortcomings in the integrated financial management information system (IFMIS) to execute the scam.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Giant royal python snake found in toilet reunited with owner
A giant snake that was found after a resident in Swindon had the shock of their life after finding it in their toilet has been reunited with its owner. As previously reported, a resident in sheltered housing made a call they probably never thought they would have to make to report that a royal python snake had slithered up into their toilet bowl. Staff from Swindon Borough Council - Oliver, parking team leader, and James, payroll administrator - teamed up with Housing Response Officers and an on-call contractor to safely remove the royal python and stop it from exploring any other nearby toilets. The team faced an overnight stakeout as the snake slithered out of the toilet and tried to hide under the bath, but they eventually managed to rescue it. At the time the council said the snake had rehomed with Cold-Blooded Creatures, a reptile shop in Swindon. Swindon Borough Council shared photos of the snake on social media with some details about the unusual call-out. The post read: "Not your average day in the office. "Two weeks ago, an unexpected guest slithered its way up from a sheltered housing resident's toilet. Yes, you read that right - a royal python gave our teams a very unusual call-out! "Oliver (Parking Team Leader) and James (Payroll Administrator) swapped their usual day jobs to help safely remove the slippery stowaway, teaming up with Housing Response Officers and an on-call contractor to prevent it from making an unplanned visit to other properties. "After an overnight stakeout (because the snake made a great escape under the bath), the team managed to secure and safely rehome it with Cold-Blooded Creatures. "But don't worry, snakes don't usually pop up in toilets, this one was most likely just on an unexpected adventure. "A huge to everyone involved for going above and beyond to keep our residents safe." According to the council, the snake known as Kaa, has now returned home after being safely captured and well protected. A statement says: "Following the very unusual discovery of a royal python in a resident's toilet in one of our sheltered housing homes, George Selman Gardens, we're pleased to share that the snake has now been reunited with her rightful owner. "It turns out the python, named Kaa, is a much-loved pet who had escaped from a private property. "These events are rare, so our thanks go to everyone who helped safely capture and care for Kaa before she was returned home."
