The Enforcement Directorate has gathered substantial evidence of tax evasion against YouTuber Siddharth Yadav, known as Elvish Yadav, and several others. According to official sources, this Saturday, they revealed that Yadav and his associates are also facing charges related to the use of snake toxin as a recreational drug at parties he hosted.
The central agency has pressed charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after acknowledging a First Information Report (FIR) and charge sheet filed by the Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) district police in Uttar Pradesh last month against Yadav and others associated with him.
The alleged generation of proceeds from crime and the use of illegal funds for organizing rave or recreational parties are under investigation by the ED. Yadav and his associates implicated in the case will undergo questioning as part of the investigation, the sources added.
Yadav was arrested on March 17 by the Noida Police in connection with their probe into the suspected use of snake toxin as a recreational drug at parties allegedly hosted by him. The 26-year-old YouTuber, also the winner of the reality TV show Bigg Boss OTT 2, was booked under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Wildlife Protection Act, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the Noida police.
Yadav was one of six individuals named in an FIR lodged at Noida's Sector 49 Police Station on November 3 last year based on a complaint from a representative of animal rights NGO People for Animals (PFA). The other five accused, all snake charmers, were arrested in November and were later released on bail by a local court.
The five snake charmers were apprehended from a banquet hall in Noida on November 3 last year, and nine snakes, including five cobras, were rescued from their possession, along with 20 ml of suspected snake toxin. Yadav was reportedly not present at the banquet hall at that time.
In April, the Noida Police filed a charge sheet exceeding 1,200 pages in the case. The charges included snake trafficking, use of psychotropic substances, and organizing rave parties, as stated by the police.
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