Officials in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh were greeted with a slimy surprise when a live baby snake was discovered in a bottle of drinking water served at a government event.
A doctor found the snake in her bottle during the event at the headquarters of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party.
The security forces present at the event took away the bottle. The fate of the snake is not known.
The mineral water company has called the incident a “conspiracy”.
“It’s a conspiracy against me. When I was shown the bottle, its seal was broken,” the company owner was quoted as saying in the Times of India.
Wednesday’s event was held in the state capital, Raipur, and was attended by Chief Minister Raman Singh and the federal Health Minister JP Nadda.
After the reptilian discovery, all the water bottles distributed at the function were recalled.
The baby snake survived the initial ordeal of being submerged in a bottle of water, BBC Hindi’s Alok Putul in Raipur reports.
However, it is not known if the snake is still alive.
The government has now ordered all mineral water bottles across the state to be checked.
