By Tim Binnall
An Indian woman desperate to avoid an arranged marriage found her way out of the unwanted nuptials by staging a 'supernatural snake transformation' that sparked panic in her village and allowed her to escape into the night with her true love. The bizarre case, likened by some media outlets to the plot of a Bollywood movie, reportedly began when the bride-to-be went to sleep on Sunday night at her family's home in the community of Auraiya. Upon entering the young woman's room the following morning, her mother was astonished to discover that she was nowhere to be found, and on her bed were some clothes, jewelry, and, eeriest of all, a five-foot-long snakeskin.
When word of the weird turn of events reached residents of the community, there was widespread speculation that the woman's disappearance was supernatural in nature. Specifically, many suspected that the missing 23-year-old had become a ichchadhari nagin, or 'wishful serpent,' a mythical shapeshifting creature in Indian folklore that is said to be able to transform from a snake into a human and back again at will. Believers in the fantastic theory flocked to her family's home to offer prayers of protection against whatever sinister supernatural situation might have befallen them. However, when police got involved in the case, the fantastic tale fell apart in short order.
Cops investigating the case soon determined that the woman had staged the 'supernatural event' as part of a rather clever ruse aimed at thwarting an arranged marriage her parents had orchestrated. Wishing to marry her boyfriend instead, she concocted the curious scene, which allowed her time to flee her home and run off with the young man who was a proverbial Romeo to her Juliet as far as their disapproving families were concerned. "The girl staged this drama to mislead people," one local official explained, "no transformation occurred, just a very determined exit." Having managed to pull off their snake scheme, the happy couple remains missing, likely reticent to return to their village in light of the panic and unwanted attention that their audacious plan caused.