Associates of Elvish Yadav Arrested as YouTuber is Presented in Court

Noida: The Noida Police, on Wednesday, arrested two associates of the YouTuber and social media personality Elvish Yadav in connection with an ongoing probe into the suspected use of snake venom as a recreational drug in parties. Yadav, it may be recalled, is currently lodged in Greater Noida's Luksar jail.

In November of last year, Yadav was among six people named in an FIR filed at the Noida Sector 49 police station, with the case being 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).

Later, charges under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act were also added to the case. 

While Yadav has refuted the charges of involvement in the case, BJP leader Maneka Gandhi has in the past accused him of involvement in illegally selling snake venom and sought arrest.

The FIR was lodged on the complaint of an official of animal rights NGO People for Animals (PFA). Gandhi is PFA's chairperson.

On November 4, Yadav was briefly stopped for questioning by police in Rajasthan's Kota while he was travelling with his friends in a car but was let off soon.

Now, according to a report by PTI, two of Elvish's associates, 50-year-old Ishwar and 25-year-old Vinay Yadav, have been booked under the same charges that he was arrested under, namely consumption of drugs, organising parties where such substances were used and trafficking of wildlife species. 

Vinay is a social media influencer and close friend of Elvish while Ishwar, according to the police, ran a banquet hall in Gurugram. Neither of the two were reportedly named in the original FIR mentioned above but rather their links to the case would surface during the course of the investigation. 

Elvish Yadav presented in court

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Elvish Yadav himself was produced at a local court for a bail hearing. During said hearing, the court was reportedly informed that the Noida Police had accidentally imposed Section 20 of the NDPS in the case, which deals with ‘Punishment for contravention in relation to the cannabis plant and cannabis’, due to a typing error. 

In the presence of Elvish Yadav, this was changed to Section 22 of the Narcotic Drugs And Psychotropic Substances Act which deals with ‘Punishment for contravention in relation to psychotropic substances.’

With inputs from PTI.