According to sources familiar with the situation, YouTuber Elvish Yadav, the winner of Big Boss OTT, has revealed to authorities that he helped purchase snakes and snake venom for rave events, as reported by India Today TV on Monday. The 26-year-old influencer also allegedly admitted to meeting all of the people arrested by police in connection with the use of snake venom as a recreational substance at a party hosted in Noida in November of the previous year.
Elvish Yadav faces charges under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972
The Noida Police took Yadav into jail on Sunday, March 17, as part of an ongoing investigation into the event. He was then brought before a judge, who sentenced him to 14 days in judicial custody. Notably, Yadav is among six people identified in an FIR lodged at Noida’s Sector 49 police station. The remaining five accused, all snake charmers, were seized in November but have since been released on bail.
Yadav faces charges under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, as well as sections 120B, 284, and 289 of the Indian Penal Code, which relate to criminal conspiracy, negligent conduct involving poison endangering human safety, and negligent conduct concerning animals, respectively. The case now includes charges under the strict provisions of Sections 8, 20, 27, and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Previous forensic findings verified the presence of snake venom in samples recovered from the party scene.
What is the NDPS Act?
Section 8(c) of the Act forbids the sale, usage, or acquisition of narcotics. Meanwhile, Section 20(b) particularly covers cannabis, with penalties changing according to the amount recovered. Depending on the amount, imprisonment for up to one year may be imposed. Section 27 of the Act states that the punishment for taking any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance varies. If the substance taken is cocaine, morphine, diacetylmorphine, or any other listed narcotic drug, the punishment may include up to one year of hard imprisonment, a fine of up to twenty thousand rupees, or both. For substances other than those indicated, the punishment may include up to six months in prison, a fine of up to ten thousand rupees, or both.
His arrest followed a sting operation organized by People for Animals, led by BJP MP and PFA chairperson Maneka Gandhi, to expose the exploitation of endangered wildlife. Elvish allegedly enabled the acquisition of snake venom for a specific function hosted in Noida’s Sector 51. Subsequent investigations revealed the use of cobra and krait snake venom during the incident, as evidenced by samples collected from the location. The case took a worrying turn when it was discovered that nine snakes discovered at the party venue had their venom glands excised, with eight of them lacking their fangs. This disclosure sparked concerns about the illegal trade and exploitation of wildlife for nefarious reasons.
