**Banki:** Panic gripped the inmates of LN Modi Hostel of Banki Autonomous College after a 4.5-ft long cobra was spotted in the campus during the flag hoisting ceremony on Wednesday.
The snake popped out of the flag pole while college staffers were preparing for the Independence Day celebrations. Some of the students rang up the Snake Helpline which rushed to the spot and rescued the cobra.
It took the helpline members around 45 minutes to overpower the snake. The I-Day celebrations were observed after the snake was freed in a nearby forest.