Elvish Yadav turns up at Noida police station at midnight, grilled for 2 hours

NOIDA: YouTuber Elvish Yadav was questioned on early Wednesday morning in connection with a case about the supply of snake venom at a party in Noida, allegedly for recreational use, police said.

Five persons were arrested last Thursday in the same case.

“Elvish Yadav appeared before the Noida police on Wednesday early morning. He was questioned over his involvement in the alleged video. Yadav has been asked to join the probe again,” said Noida additional deputy commissioner of police Shakti Mohan Avasthy, a reference to a video on social media where he is seen posing with a snake.

On social media, Yadav had earlier posted a screenshot of the video and said that it was from a music video shoot and more than six months old.

A police officer said Elvish Yadav turned up past midnight for questioning. He left at 2am.

The YouTuber was among the six people named in the first information report (FIR) registered on Thursday under provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and Section 120A (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly providing snake venom for a party in Noida’s Sector 51.

The other five persons booked in the case were arrested. Police said Elvish Yadav’s alleged role is under investigation. A police officer earlier said that Elvish Yadav was not present at the party.

The case was initially registered by Noida’s Section 49 police station but the probe was transferred to the Section 20 police station on Monday.

The five people arrested in this case have been identified by the police as Rahul Chauhan (32), Teetunath (45), Narayan (50), and Ravinath (45). All of them are residents of Moharband village in south-east Delhi’s Badarpur area.

A vial with 20ml liquid believed to be snake venom, and nine snakes including five cobras and a python were seized from the suspects on Thursday. The forensic report on the liquid is awaited.