On Sunday, Noida police arrested Youtuber and Bigg Boss OTT 2 winner Elvish Yadav in a snake venom case, in which he and five other members are accused of selling snake venom at rave parties in Delhi.
Reportedly, Yadav has confessed to arranging snakes and snakes venom. He has been sent to 14 days of custody.
Snake Venom Case
Following a tip-off from People for Animal (PFA), an NGO run by BJP Sultanpur MP Maneka Gandhi, an FIR was filed on November 3rd, last year at Sector 19 police station, where Yadav was named one of the accused, but was not arrested then.
Police arrested five people from the Chevron banquet hall in Noida Sector 51 in November 2023.
Police interrogated Elvish Yadab two times and collected related evidence. Manish Kumar Mishra additional DCP of Noida said Elvish Yadav would soon be produced before a court.
Police had seized 20 ml of snake venom, five cobras, one python, 2 two-headed snakes, and a rat snake. Investigation revealed the venom glands were missing in all nine snakes, while krait venom was found in samples sent to the forensic science laboratory in Jaipur.
FIR against Elvish Yadav
Elvish Yadav and five others are charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and sections 9, 39, 48A, 49, 50, and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act at the Sector 49 police station.
Later, the investigation was moved from Sector 49 to Sector 20 police station. Yadav was arrested by Sector 20 police team. The other five involved are now out on bail and identified as Jaikaran (50), Narayan (50), Teetunath (45), and Ravinath (45), Rahul (32) all residents of Moharband village in southeast Delhi’s Badarpur.
Multiple reports suggest that the snake venom is used for recreational purposes at parties. Yadav denied involvement in the case, when he was arrested and rejecting the accusation said they are “baseless, fake and not even one percent true”.
Another complaint was filed against Yadav last week, by a PFA official alleging threats from the former Bigg Boss contestant. He was also charged in another case for featuring a special snake in a music video.
What is Snake Venom addiction?
Snake venom is also used for recreational purposes, it is an unusual form of substance abuse where individuals intentionally expose themselves to snake venom.
The venom can induce various effects like intoxication due to neurotoxins present in it. This kind of addiction is also known as ophidism. The effect of the venom is unpredictable, potentially deadly, and lasts for days.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985, governs the use and possession of drugs including drugs from snake venom. But Elvish Yadav is not registered under NDPS as drugs were not found on the spot.
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