Another day gone, and another person who nearly died in their attempt to take a selfie. This time, it was a forest ranger in West Bengal who found himself in a bit of a tight situation, literally, while he was posing for his selfies.

Sanjoy Dutta, a forest range officer of Baikunthapur Forest in Jalpaiguri, was called in on Sunday by frantic villagers who had discovered a 40-kg, 18-feet-long python in their village. According to AFP, the villagers had seen the python swallowing a goat alive, and called Dutta to the rescue.

Dutta, instead of simply evacuating the snake to a safe location, draped it around his shoulders and posed for pictures and selfies (video above). The python, however, was in no mood for self-promotion. Instead, it started to wrap itself around Dutta’s neck, all but strangling him.

The villagers panicked as Dutta was nearly choked to death, even though he maintained a firm grip around the reptile’s head. After a brief struggle, Dutta escaped the scaly clutches of the reptile and escaped unharmed.

Now, reported AFP, West Bengal’s forest department has launched an official inquiry into the ranger’s conduct and flouting of safety protocol. Dutta, meanwhile, claims that he was only trying to rescue the snake from the villagers who were prepared to club it to death.

“I was not scared for even a moment (when the python tightened its grip) because had I panicked, it could have been fatal,” Dutta told AFP, saying that his first instinct was to rescue the snake.

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