YouTuber Elvish Yadav arrested by Noida Police

YouTuber Elvish Yadav was arrested on Sunday by Noida Police in connection with a probe into the suspected use of snake venom as a recreational drug at a party held there, officials said.

Yadav was among six people named in an FIR lodged at Sector 49 police station in Noida on 3 November last year. The five other accused were arrested but are currently out on bail, the officials said.

The case was lodged under provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and for criminal conspiracy under section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, they said. It was later shifted from Sector 49 to Sector 20 police station for investigation.

"The accused has been arrested by a team of Sector 20 police station which was investigating the case," additional DCP (Noida) Manish Mishra told PTI.

Yadav, a winner of the reality show Bigg Boss OTT, has refuted the charges of involvement in the case and has been questioned by the police in the past.

A sub-inspector, who was also the in-charge of the local Sector 49 police station where the FIR was registered, was moved. The case was lodged on the complaint of an official from the animal rights group People For Animals (PFA).

Five people were arrested from a banquet hall in Sector 51 on 3 November and nine snakes, including five cobras, rescued from their possession while 20 ml of suspected snake venom was also seized. However, police said Yadav was not present at the party hall and they were probing his role in the whole case of snake venom use as a recreational drug.

PFA chairperson and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi has accused Yadav of involvement in illegally selling snake venom and sought his immediate arrest.

On 4 November, 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.