Man brings live Russel's Viper to Faridpur Press Club to get Tk50,000 reward promised by AL leader. Goes home empty-handed
On Thursday evening, District Awami League General Secretary Shah Md Ishtiaq Arif had announced a Tk50,000 reward to anyone who kills Russell's Vipers
Rezaul Khan, 32, a farmer, had arrived at the Faridpur Press Club yesterday carrying a cooking pot.
In the pot was a live Russel's Viper snake, the latest social media craze.
Rezaul's reason for bringing the snake?
On Thursday evening, District Awami League General Secretary Shah Md Ishtiaq Arif had announced a Tk50,000 reward to anyone who kills Russell's Vipers. Video of the announcement went viral on social media.
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A day after making this announcement, he changed his mind and said the award would only be valid for live Russel's Vipers.
When Rezaul was cultivating cropland in Aliabad Union and saw the snake, he immediately thought of the prize money.
Risking his life and taking help from locals, Rezaul captured the reptile.
"I packed the snake in this pot and brought it to collect the reward money," he told TBS.
He also mentioned that he had killed a Russel's Viper two days ago.
Till today, however, Rezaul is yet to be paid.
Rezaul isn't alone. Since the announcement by the AL leader, many people started bringing snakes to the city in hopes of getting the award.
They are all yet to receive it.
The district AL clarified its stance on Friday evening.
District AL General Secretary Ishtiaq Arif told reporters that the matter may have been wrongly-stated or misunderstood.
"Although venomous, these snakes are part of the ecosystem. But now the people of Faridpur Char are very scared. That is why we made this announcement to warn everyone. But the snake needs to be alive for the reward," he said.
By today, the whole AL unit has gone quiet about the prize.
Residents are now wary of how quickly the local leaders changed their words.
There's also a legal matter arising over the issue.
Golam Quddus Bhuiyan, divisional forest officer of Faridpur, said announcing such an award was illegal.
"Who will take responsibility if someone dies or gets injured because of this reward? The farmers who caught the snakes should release those at the spot where it was found."
Experts had warned that the Russel's Viper frenzy, stoked by the media, would lead to death of many snakes.
