The snake was being illegally carried by a brightly garbed snake charmer, who was displaying it and asking for money in Shahdara.

Acting on the complaint, police have booked the charmer, Dhanpal Nath for violating three sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. At present, Nath is in judicial custody.

The partly defanged snake bit Naresh when he tried to handle it. “Though no venom seems to have been injected, there is a possibility of septic infection,” said Sanjay Acharya of Wildlife SOS, who rescued the snake. Naresh is recovering at GTB Hospital.

“The snake charmer has violated sections 9, 42 and 49 regarding illegal trapping of the animal, and keeping it in possession without license or certificate. He did not have any licence for keeping the snake, and trapped it illegally. His conviction can be between three and seven years,” said Wildlife Inspector S S Negi.

“Such activities are totally banned. Snake charmers like him usually come from different states to make money,” he said.

“Displaying a cobra for money can amount to extortion, as people give money after a level of intimidation. Snake charming is banned by law. People who indulge in such exercises usually knock off the fangs of snakes like cobras, which die in a few days. In this case, the snake had been partly defanged,” said Kartick Satyanarayan co-founder of Wildlife SOS, which runs Delhi’s official wild animal rescue helpline.