Hours after the Noida police filed an FIR against social media influencer Elvish Yadav for allegedly organising rave parties with snake venom and arrested five individuals in the case, all 5 were presented before the magistrate court of Surajpur on Friday. All of them were sent to 14 days judicial custody by the court.
Notably, Elvish Yadav has not been arrested by the police yet.
The case so far
Earlier in the day, Bigg Boss OTT 2 winner and social media personality Elvish Yadav got into trouble after the Noida police filed an FIR against him for allegedly organising rave parties with snake venom. The police sprung into action and arrested five individuals after Gaurav Gupta, serving as an Animal Welfare Officer at the People For Animal (PFA) organisation filed a complaint accusing Elvish and other YouTubers of filming videos with snakes and venom at Noida-NCR farmhouses.
Gaurav further alleged that these individuals illegally organise rave parties where foreign women are invited to consume snake venom and narcotics. PFA, which is associated with Maneka Gandhi received information about the same and contacted Elvish posing as a customer. A tip-off was given to Forest Department officials as well as the police, who then raided the Sector-51 Sevron Banquet Hall. They arrested five persons - Rahul, Titunath, Jaykaran, Narayan, and Ravinaath, who hailed from Delhi.
The police seized 20 milliliters of snake venom, as well as five cobras, one python, two two-headed snakes, and one rat snake. SHO Sandeep Chaudhary stated that besides the five arrested accused, a case has been registered under sections 9, 39, 48 (A), 49, 50, and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 against Elvish as well. A probe around the same is underway.
All arrested except Elvish
Among the people booked in the snake venom supply case for rave parties, Elvish Yadav stands out as the only one not apprehended by the Noida Police. With five people already in custody, social media has been abuzz with questions about whether Yadav is receiving preferential treatment from the authorities due to his influence and political connections.
While those who have been detained are now in judicial custody, Yadav, despite being one of the accused, remains at liberty and is slated to appear on the Weekend Ka Vaar segment of Bigg Boss 17, hosted by actor Salman Khan. He has even been seen on the reality show's set.
Elvish is known for his associations with prominent BJP leaders and ministers. It is a matter of public record that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar not only extended his congratulations to Elvish for his victory on Big Boss but also attended one of his fan meet-up events in Gurugram. Furthermore, Elvish has been photographed with union ministers Smriti Irani and Nirmala Sitharaman.
In light of these connections, there are growing concerns about whether he is receiving protection from individuals in positions of authority despite facing serious criminal charges.