Snake venom case: Noida Police gets custody of 5 accused, probing link to YouTuber

Accused Rahul (32), Teetunath (45), Jaikaran (50), Narayan (50) and Ravinath (45), all residents of Moharband village in southeast Delhi's Badarpur, were arrested from a banquet hall in Noida on November 3 and sent to judicial custody. "We had applied for the police remand of the arrested persons. The court has granted police remand till November 12," a senior police officer told PTI, requesting anonymity.

Noida:The Noida Police has got the remand of five men arrested in a case of suspected use of snake venom at rave parties till November 12, officials said on Friday. The five men, including snake charmers, and YouTuber Elvish Yadav are the six named accused in the case lodged under provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and for criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Accused Rahul (32), Teetunath (45), Jaikaran (50), Narayan (50) and Ravinath (45), all residents of Moharband village in southeast Delhi's Badarpur, were arrested from a banquet hall in Noida on November 3 and sent to judicial custody. "We had applied for the police remand of the arrested persons. The court has granted police remand till November 12," a senior police officer told PTI, requesting anonymity.

"During the initial investigation, these people had mentioned the name of the YouTuber. Police have now sought an explanation from them about naming the YouTuber and other details to ascertain if he has any role in the case," the officer said. Yadav, a winner of reality show "Bigg Boss OTT", has refuted the charge of involvement in the case. He was questioned by police for more than two hours earlier this week.

A notice has been sent to Yadav to join the investigation once again, the officer said. A sub-inspector, who was the in-charge of the Sector 49 police station where the FIR was registered, has been shunted and the matter transferred to another Noida police station, officials had said earlier.

Police said they are investigating the role of Yadav, who was not found at the spot on November 3. The case was lodged on the complaint from an official of animal rights group People For Animals (PFA). PFA chairperson and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Maneka Gandhi has accused Yadav of involvement in illegally selling snake venom and sought his arrest.

On November 4, the YouTuber 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.