Going viral: The picture of snakes in Lucknow tax office is 3 years old

You may have seen a picture of snakes scattered in a tax department office in Lucknow on your Facebook timeline today. The caption says, “A man uses a tablecloth to fend off snakes scattered in a tax department office in Basti, Lucknow. Two farmers fed up with alleged bribery demands emptied three bags filled with 40 slithering snakes.” And, you’re like, “Wow! That’s the way to tackle corruption.” [caption id=“attachment_1720953” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  Screen grab from YouTube video.[/caption] So, it’s being shared and re-shared. But calm down, the picture is three years old. According to a PTI report, dated 30 November, 2011, a snake charmer let over a dozen snakes loose inside a revenue department office, frustrated over alleged delay in allotment of land and demands for bribe. According to the report, Hakkul, the snake charmer, had written a letter to the President to allot additional land on which the government had directed the local administration to complete formalities. However, he alleged that revenue department officials were demanding bribe and the matter was still pending. So, Hakkul’s way of taking revenge: Dump snakes in the IT office to scare the officials.