Bengaluru: Colleagues having professional jealousy had couriered the package containing a snake to a Bescom staffer at Shivananda Circle here on Wednesday, police have said and ruled out any personal motive or affair in the bizarre incident.
“Investigation conducted so far has revealed that professional issues played a role in sending the snake and threat letter to the Bescom officer. There was no personal issue or affair involved as claimed by the complainant,” DCP (Central) Sandeep Patil told Deccan Herald.
The officer, who works in Bescom’s vigilance department, had complained to the police on Wednesday that he was sent a box by courier. When he opened it, he saw a green viper and anonymous threat letter. The sender had asked him to stay away from his wife. The High Grounds police then registered a case of criminal intimidation and criminal threat against the sender. Police suspect four persons, two of them strongly. The DCP said the man who sent the box would be arrested shortly.
Police also stressed that the snake was a green viper, not a cobra. “It was a small green viper, not a cobra and there was just one in the box. The green viper was asleep when the complainant opened the box and clicked its pictures on his smartphone. The complainant’s claim of receiving a box containing a snake is genuine,” said another senior police officer.
No other employee was present in the office when the delivery boy of a courier office located in Rajajinagar came over to hand over the package. When the complainant opened the box and saw the sleeping snake, he panicked and clicked its picture. He then threw away the snake as well as the box. “The green viper isn’t poisonous and rarely bites. In fact, people consider its biting a good omen,” said the inspector of the High Grounds police station.
Patil said few leads were available about the sender. “The courier boy didn’t note down the sender’s details, which has made it difficult to identify the sender,” he added.
The inspector said the reference about the sender was found to be false. A group of four Bescom employees played a role and action would be taken against them, he added.