ED attaches properties worth over ₹58 lakh of Elvish, Fazilpuria
Elvish Yadav was questioned for nearly eight hours on September 5 by the ED’s Lucknow unit about his alleged links with snake charmers and individuals who reportedly provided him with snakes and snake venom.
LUCKNOW: The Lucknow unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) confiscated movable and immovable assets worth over ₹58 lakh belonging to YouTuber Elvish Yadav and his close associate, Rahul Yadav, also known as Fazilpuria, a Haryanvi singer, on Thursday. The action was taken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with a snake venom case registered by Gautambuddhnagar police, according to senior ED officials in Lucknow.
A senior ED official confirmed that the confiscated properties included approximately three acres of land in Bijnor registered in Fazilpuria’s name, as well as bank accounts belonging to Elvish, Fazilpuria, and a private firm that produced their videos.
Elvish Yadav was questioned for nearly eight hours on September 5 by the ED’s Lucknow unit about his alleged links with snake charmers and individuals who reportedly provided him with snakes and snake venom. The ED had questioned Yadav twice since May but remained unsatisfied with his responses, he said.
The officials further said that Fazilpuria was questioned for several hours at the ED Lucknow office on July 8 about the use of a snake in one of his popular songs. Additionally, Elvish Yadav’s associates, Ishwar Yadav and Vinay Yadav, were also questioned in the case.
The ED registered a case under the PMLA related to a snake venom-rave party, initially investigated by Gautambuddhnagar police, due to the large financial transactions involved in the racket in February this year.
Earlier, Yadav was arrested on March 17 and placed in 14-day judicial custody. However, he was granted bail five days later. On April 6, Gautambuddhnagar police filed a 1,200-page chargesheet under the Wildlife Conservation Act against Yadav and seven others, nearly six months after the FIR was registered. The chargesheet detailed the smuggling of snakes and the use of venom at parties.
Yadav has refuted the charges, calling them “baseless and fake.” Police later dropped the charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, admitting it was a mistake.
