Indian police have arrested famous Indian YouTuber Elvish Yadav for allegedly offering snake venom as a recreational drug at his music events. The influencer, who has 15 million subscribers on YouTube, was detained under wildlife laws, according to NDTV, after a raid took place at an event he attended in November, where snake venom was suspected to be used by partygoers as a drug. Following the incident, police launched an investigation and questioned five individuals suspected of smuggling snakes, who indicated that Yadav was the alleged organizer of the parties and the supplier of the snake venom.
NDTV confirmed that Yadav, who won the Indian version of Big Brother, Bigg Boss OTT, denied all accusations and stated he will fully cooperate with the police. The channel reported that nine snakes were confiscated from the party, including a cobra, along with 20 ml of snake venom. Additionally, the Times of India noted that Yadav has been held in custody for 14 days, four months after he was first interrogated. The case came to light following a complaint filed by the animal welfare organization People For Animals, which alleged that Yadav and others were filming videos with snakes and their venom, as reported by India Today. In this context, a research paper published in 2022 in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine expressed concerns about the use of snake venom as a drug, noting its frequent use at wild parties, with 13 recorded instances of venom use as a recreational substance in India that year.
