Snake venom case: 2 associates of Elvish Yadav arrested

‘Ishwar runs a banquet hall in Gurugram. Vinay is a social media influencer and a close aide of Elvish Yadav,’ ADCP (Crime) Shakti Mohan Avasthy said. | Photo Credit: File Photo

The Noida police have arrested two more associates of YouTuber Elvish Yadav for procuring and selling snake venom. A total of eight persons, including Mr. Yadav, have been arrested in the recreational drugs case so far.

An officer said the names of the two accused—Ishwar, 50, and Vinay Yadav, 25—were not mentioned in the original FIR, which was lodged at Noida’s Sector 49 police station on November 3 last year. The officer added that their links with the case surfaced during the investigation.

“Ishwar runs a banquet hall in Gurugram. Vinay is a social media influencer and a close aide of Elvish Yadav,” ADCP (Crime) Shakti Mohan Avasthy said.

“Both the accused have been booked under the same charges as Elvish Yadav, which include sections pertaining to the consumption of drugs, organising parties where such drugs are consumed, and trafficking of wildlife species,” Mr. Avasthy said.

The senior officer added that Mr. Ishwar was an associate of Rahul Sapera, another accused in the case. At his banquet hall, Mr. Ishwar would call snake charmers who would supply him with snake venom, which, in turn, was supplied to Mr. Yadav. Mr. Vinay also supplied venom to Mr. Yadav, who would then organise these parties.

“We are ascertaining the role of each accused. All the persons whose names come up will be interrogated. There are many incriminating videos available on YouTube and we are going through them as well,” said Noida DCP Sagar Mishra.

Mr. Yadav, the winner of Bigg Boss OTT Season 2, is currently lodged in the Luksar Jail in Greater Noida and is awaiting the hearing of his bail plea in a local court.

The five other accused, identified as snake charmers, were arrested in November but are currently out on bail.

The case was lodged under provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, Indian Penal Code Sections 120B (party to criminal conspiracy), 284 (negligent conduct related to poison that endangers human safety), and 289 (negligent conduct with respect to animals).

Charges under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act were recently added to the case.