Shashi Tharoor urges Kerala government to honour forest officer who rescued 18-foot king cobra: 'Amazing...'

G S Roshni, who has nearly eight years of experience with the Forest Department, has conducted more than 800 snake rescues.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday praised the courage and composure of Forest Beat Officer G S Roshni from Kerala's Paruthipalli Range, who recently rescued an enormous king cobra in a dramatic operation that has since gone viral on social media.

Roshni, a member of the state’s Forest Department, was seen in a video capturing the highly venomous reptile using only a snake hook and a sack. The intense six-minute-long footage showed her wrestling with the snake before successfully placing it into the sack. The king cobra—reportedly 18 feet in length—is one of the most venomous snakes in the world and was found near a residential area in Anchumaruthumoot, Peppara, in Thiruvananthapuram district.

The rescue was prompted by local residents who spotted the reptile while bathing in a stream and raised an alarm. In response, a five-member Rapid Response Team, including Officer Roshni, was dispatched to the site.

Shashi Tharoor, MP for Thiruvananthapuram, shared the viral video on X (formerly Twitter), writing: "Amazing courage and competence on display by Forest Officer Roshni! Calling on the Kerala Govt to recognise her exemplary service appropriately." He further remarked: "Such bravery in the line of duty too often is taken for granted and remains unappreciated."

Amazing courage and competence on display by Forest Officer Roshni! Calling on the Kerala Govt to recognise her exemplary service appropriately. Thanks for pointing this out @Rajan_Medhekar ! Such bravery in the line of duty too often is taken for granted and remains… https://t.co/8jaO7oRkyY

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 7, 2025

The video was initially posted by X user Rajan Medhekar, who wrote: "Forest Beat Officer Roshni of Paruthipalli Range did not flinch even after seeing this 18-foot long #KingCobra!" Tharoor thanked Medhekar for bringing the incident to wider attention.

G S Roshni, who has nearly eight years of experience with the Forest Department, has conducted more than 800 snake rescues—both venomous and non-venomous—according to a report by PTI. However, this marked her first encounter with a king cobra.

Her bravery also drew admiration from Muralee Thummarukudy, Director of the G20 Global Land Initiative under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). In a Facebook post, Thummarukudy acknowledged the challenges she faced during the rescue and commended her poise and resolve.

"There is a lack of familiarity. Tool falls out of hand while dealing with snake. The people standing by are telling the snake to please, get in. It is only when you start climbing that you realise that the snake is a little bigger or the bag is a little smaller. Despite all this, that officer never loses confidence. Congratulations," he wrote.