The Noida Police on Friday, 3 November, booked Big Boss OTT Season 2 winner and YouTuber Elvish Yadav for allegedly supplying snake venom at a rave party in Noida.
Five others have been arrested in connection with the case and sent to 14-day judicial custody.
An FIR, based on a complaint by People for Animals, an NGO run by BJP MP Maneka Gandhi, was registered under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 by Noida Police.
The offence, which is non-bailable, could attract a jail term of up to seven years.
YouTuber Elvish Yadav Booked for Supplying Snake Venom: What's the Case?
1. What Led to The Case?
Gaurav Gupta, Animal Welfare Officer at People for Animals NGO, told The Quint:
"We have been receiving information for a long time that a YouTuber named Elvish Yadav shoots videos with snake venom and live snakes along with other people in the farmhouses of Delhi-NCR. He also organises rave parties, where snake venom is consumed as intoxicants."
How Cops Were Tipped Off?
Noida Deputy Commissioner of Police Ram Badan Singh told the media that Gupta tipped off the police that he had, as part of a sting operation, contacted the YouTuber to purchase snake venom for a rave party at Noida’s Sector 51. Gupta reportedly told the police that Yadav had put him in touch with a man named Rahul Yadav to complete the deal.
A total of nine snakes were found from the arrested accused, including five cobras, one python, two two-headed snakes and one rat snake, Divisional Forest Officer Pramod Kumar Srivastava said. Apart from this, 20 ml snake venom has also been found, the DCP added.
Expand2. 'Ready to Fully Cooperate': Elvish Yadav's Response
"The news of my arrest and the allegations leveled against me is circulating on social media. All the allegations leveled against me are false. I am ready to cooperate fully in the investigation of Noida Police."
Meanwhile, BJP MP and founder of People for Animals (PFA) Maneka Gandhi has called for Yadav's immediate arrest.
"This is a Grade-one crime - that means seven years in jail...PFA laid a trap and caught these people. They use endangered species of snakes in their videos. Later it was found that he sells snake venom in Noida and Gurugram," she said.
Yadav has millions of followers on social media, and following the allegations, a number of photos of him with BJP ministers have surfaced online.
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Expand
What Led to The Case?
Gaurav Gupta, Animal Welfare Officer at People for Animals NGO, told The Quint:
"We have been receiving information for a long time that a YouTuber named Elvish Yadav shoots videos with snake venom and live snakes along with other people in the farmhouses of Delhi-NCR. He also organises rave parties, where snake venom is consumed as intoxicants."
How Cops Were Tipped Off?
Noida Deputy Commissioner of Police Ram Badan Singh told the media that Gupta tipped off the police that he had, as part of a sting operation, contacted the YouTuber to purchase snake venom for a rave party at Noida’s Sector 51. Gupta reportedly told the police that Yadav had put him in touch with a man named Rahul Yadav to complete the deal.
A total of nine snakes were found from the arrested accused, including five cobras, one python, two two-headed snakes and one rat snake, Divisional Forest Officer Pramod Kumar Srivastava said. Apart from this, 20 ml snake venom has also been found, the DCP added.
'Ready to Fully Cooperate': Elvish Yadav's Response
"The news of my arrest and the allegations leveled against me is circulating on social media. All the allegations leveled against me are false. I am ready to cooperate fully in the investigation of Noida Police."
Meanwhile, BJP MP and founder of People for Animals (PFA) Maneka Gandhi has called for Yadav's immediate arrest.
"This is a Grade-one crime - that means seven years in jail...PFA laid a trap and caught these people. They use endangered species of snakes in their videos. Later it was found that he sells snake venom in Noida and Gurugram," she said.
Yadav has millions of followers on social media, and following the allegations, a number of photos of him with BJP ministers have surfaced online.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)