How snake venom and rave parties landed a top Indian YouTuber in hot water with police

Elvish Yadav made reality television history in August by winning an Indian version of Big Brother.

The 26-year-old’s journey to online stardom seemed to have reached its peak when he became the first wild card contestant to win Bigg Boss OTT, the Indian version of the popular show.

But the celebration was shortlived.

The YouTuber, whose social media handles boast millions of followers, was questioned by the police in connection with accusations that he had organised rave parties in which endangered snakes and snake venom were supplied.

Police say they found both snakes and venom at one such rave in Noida city on the outskirts of India’s national capital Delhi.

Nine snakes – five cobras, one python, two two-headed snakes and one rat snake – were recovered during a police raid at the rave party last week, police said. Besides these, 20ml snake venom was also found, they said.

Five people were arrested in connection with the purported use of snake venom and Yadav was forced to shoot down rumours that he had been arrested. The five accused said they used to supply snakes to parties organised by Yadav, according to authorities.

Charges were introduced against them and Yadav under India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act.

On Tuesday, the YouTuber, who frequently promotes his meet-ups with top Indian government ministers, was grilled for three hours by police officials.

“Where did the snakes in your videos come from?” and “Why do you pose with them?” were questions Yadav reportedly faced, according to news channel NDTV. One senior police official said he will be called for another round of questioning, reported news agency PTI.

“I am innocent and being falsely implicated in this case,” he reportedly told police.

Yadav also posted a screenshot last week in which he was holding a snake, and said it was from a six-month-old video.

Preliminary investigations so far revealed snake venom was utilised at the gathering, potentially combined with other substances. An investigation is underway to ascertain whether party attendees on 2 November used it as a recreational drug.

On Wednesday, reports citing unidentified police sources said investigators have not yet found any concrete proof linking Yadav with any drug cartel dealing with snakes.

The allegations against Yadav have come from a non-profit run by Maneka Gandhi, a lawmaker of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an animal rights activist, and a member of India’s Nehru-Gandhi family which gave India its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Gaurav Gupta, who works as an animal welfare officer at People for Animals, told the police he engaged with the YouTuber as part of a sting operation in which he attempted to procure snake venom for a rave party.

“We have been receiving information for a long time that a YouTuber named Elvish Yadav shoots videos with snake venom and live snakes along with other people in the farmhouses of Delhi-NCR,” he said, referring to Delhi’s surrounding areas, called the National Capital Region.

The Independent has reached out to Yadav for comment.

Gandhi has called for Yadav’s arrest. “He is the kingpin of this,” she said. “This whole business of getting snakes and using [their venom] for drugs in parties, private gatherings, it is so dangerous.”

She said snakes die in the process of extracting their venom.

Gandhi said the creatures in question are all on the endangered species list. “These people catch them from the forest, they don’t breed them. There is a seven-year jail sentence, which they should all get,” she said.

Yadav has called all allegations against him baseless.

“The allegations against me are fake. There is not even one per cent truth in these accusations against me,” Yadav said in a video last week.

“I am ready to support the police and I request the entire administration, including Yogi Adityanath [the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state where Noida is located], that if they find my involvement in even 0.1 per cent of the allegations, I am ready to take full responsibility,” he said.

“With name comes notoriety, people who are jealous also increase and I will not be surprised that more allegations will be levelled against me in the future. I have full faith in God, I have faith in Shri Ram ji [Hindu deity Ram]. This time will also pass soon,” Yadav said in another X post in Hindi.

Yadav started out in 2016 and gained fame for his comedy sketches on YouTube. His two YouTube channels have a following of 14.6 million and 7.57 million. He has 15.7 million followers on Instagram.

The native of Gurugram city is also the founder of the Elvish Yadav Foundation which, according to its website, provides “education and support to underprivileged children”.

The YouTuber is also the proprietor of a clothing brand called “Systumm Clothing”.

Before the accusations in the snake venom case, Yadav said he had told police he had received extortion calls and messages.

Extracting venom glands from a snake is considered a punishable offence. In India, causing harm or suffering to animals can lead to legal consequences, including imprisonment for up to seven years if found guilty.

“Derivatives from reptiles such as snakes, reptiles, and scorpions can also be used for recreational purposes and as a substitute for other substances,” authors Aseem Mehra, Debashish Basu and Sandeep Grover said in a study called Snake Venom Use as a Substitute for Opioids.

Another paper, A Curious Case of Snake Venom Addiction as an Alcohol De-Addiction Tool, describes addicts “usually report a feeling of pricking, which lasts for a duration of 10-40 seconds, followed by a sense of euphoria, muscular weakness and sedation”.

“Initially, the bites are made in the index finger or little toe, followed by lip, tongue and ear lobes,” it said.

The study notes snakes used for such bites have been identified as “cobra, krait, or green-coloured snakes seen on the trees”.