YouTuber Elvish Yadav ‘supplied snake venom at rave parties to increase his fan base’: Noida Police

“During questioning, Yadav did not accept the crime… but we have a lot of evidence. For him, it was to make a statement that he’s got ‘swag’ or ‘bhaukaal’. He wanted to paint a picture among his fans as someone who is completely unafraid of law-enforcement agencies and can do whatever he wishes,” said a police officer.

According to police sources, they found evidence of snake venom being used in more than six parties linked to Yadav. Officials involved in the probe said he was personally present at some of them. “Those who attended the parties in question are being identified; appropriate action will be taken against them for using the snake venom,” said an officer.

The case came to light on November 3 last year following a tip-off from People for Animals, an NGO run by BJP’s Sultanpur MP Maneka Gandhi, after which police arrested five people from a banquet hall in Noida’s Sector 51. While Yadav was named as one of the accused in the FIR, he was not arrested at the time.

“We received information that a YouTuber, Elvish Yadav, shoots videos with snake venom and live snakes in farmhouses in Noida and NCR along with other gang members/YouTubers and organises rave parties illegally,” read the FIR in the case.

Police had recovered 20 ml of snake venom, five cobras, a python, two two-headed snakes and a rat snake. They said that krait venom was found in samples sent to the forensic lab in Jaipur.

The other five accused are now out on bail.

While the FIR was registered under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and sections 9, 39, 48A, 49, 50 and 51 of The Wildlife (Protection) Act at the Sector 49 police station, the case is being investigated by the Sector 20 police station.

Sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and IPC sections of negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substance and negligent conduct with respect to animals, have been added in the case, said officers.

Gurgaon Police to seek his custody

Meanwhile, Gurgaon Police said they will take Yadav on a production warrant to take him into custody for allegedly assaulting a content creator, Sagar Thakur, inside a shop at a mall in the city. A police officer said police would soon file a petition in the court to take the accused on a production warrant and arrest him. “We are investigating the case and will soon seek custody,” he added.
According to police, Thakur, a 25-year-old Delhi resident, was allegedly assaulted by Yadav around 12.30 am on March 8.

Police had said Yadav had called Thakur to South Point Mall on Golf Course Road to talk. “It was at a shop owned by Yadav’s acquaintance… the moment he came in, he started beating Thakur up,” police said.

A purported video of the incident shows Yadav entering the room and beating up the victim as he greets him. Thakur falls to the ground and Yadav and his group are seen assaulting the man.

The FIR was registered at Sector 53 police station in Gurgaon under IPC sections 147,149, 323, and 506.