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Close aide of Elvish among two more arrested in snake venom case
According to deputy commissioner of police (crime) Shakti Avasthy, the two suspects arrested on Wednesday have been identified as Vinay Yadav (25) and Ishwar (50), both residents of Gurugram
The Noida police on Wednesday morning arrested two people, including a close associate of jailed YouTuber Elvish Yadav, in connection with the snake venom case, senior police officers said, adding that with this, the number of people arrested in the case is now eight
On November 3 last year, Yadav and five others were booked under the Wildlife (Protection) Act and Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 49 police station for allegedly supplying snake venom to party revellers in Noida, allegedly for recreational use. The five who were arrested on November 3 and are now out on bail, were identified as Rahul (32), Teetunath (45), Jaikaran (50), Narayan (50) and Ravinath (45), all residents of Moharband village in southeast Delhi’s Badarpur.
On Sunday, 26-year-old Yadav, a resident of Wazirabad village in Gurugram, was arrested in connection with the case, and sent to 14-day judicial custody\. Charges under the NDPS Act, and sections 284 (negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substances) and 289 (negligent conduct with respect to animals) of the Indian Penal Code were added to the existing FIR by the police following a forensic report that 20ml of liquid, recovered from the five arrested men in November, turned out to be krait venom.
According to deputy commissioner of police (crime) Shakti Avasthy, the two suspects arrested on Wednesday have been identified as Vinay Yadav (25) and Ishwar (50), both residents of Gurugram.
“The two suspects were arrested for their involvement in supplying snakes and snake venom for recreational purposes and organising rave parties,” said Avasthy.
He said Vinay is Elvish’s close friend and a business associate. “They used to talk to each other regularly, we have records of at least 900 calls between them since November last year. He used to stay in contact with Rahul, one of the suspects arrested in November. Through Rahul, Vinay used to procure snakes and snake venom for rave parties,” said Avasthy.
He added that earlier investigations have revealed that it was Rahul who used to stay in touch with snake charmers to get snakes and snake venom for recreational purposes.
“Ishwar runs a tent company and has a banquet hall in Gurugram. Vinay, through Ishwar, used to organise these rave parties at his banquet hall,” said the DCP .
He added that while Vinay was arrested from district jail in Greater Noida by the police, Ishwar was arrested at the Sector 20 police station where he had been called for questioning.
“Vinay had come to meet Elvish in jail on Wednesday and was nabbed by the police from there. Ishwar had been called from Gurugram to Noida for questioning and was later arrested based on evidence,” said the DCP.
The two suspects were sent to 14-day judicial custody on Wednesday afternoon, he added.
Meanwhile, Elvish Yadav appeared before the additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) court on Wednesday as the Noida police had applied for addition of sections under the NDPS Act in the FIR.
According to Avasthy, the police had moved court to add charges under sections 27, 27A,28,29,30,32 of the NDPS Act against the suspects in this case.
“The police moved court to add sections (27, 27A) added to the FIR relating to punishment for financing illicit traffic of drugs and psychotropic substances, and harbouring offenders; abetment and conspiracy, as well as others, relating to punishment for abetment and conspiracy to commit offences under the Act,” said the officer.
However, according to Elvish Yadav’s lawyer, Prashant Rathi, sections 27 and 27A of the NDPS Act were not added to the FIR following the hearing.
“Following arguments from both sides, giving relief to the accused, court did not add sections under 27 and 27A of the NDPS Act to the FIR, which are more stringent compared to others. We are now hoping for a bail hearing on Thursday,” said Rathi on Wednesday evening.
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