A court in Gautam Buddh Nagar on Friday granted bail to controversial YouTuber Siddharth Yadava alias Elvish Yadav in the alleged use of snake venom as a recreational drug at a party here four months ago.
The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jaihind Kumar Singh granted bail to Yadav, a winner of the reality show Bigg Boss OTT.
The YouTuber was arrested by Noida Police on March 17 and was later produced in a special court in Surajpur which sent the 26-year-old to 14-day judicial custody.
The YouTuber was booked under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the Wildlife Protection Act and the Indian Penal Code.
On March 20, Noida Police arrested two associates of Yadav in its probe into the suspected drugs case.
"Those arrested have been identified as Ishwar (50) and Vinay Yadav (25). Ishwar runs a banquet hall in Gurugram while Vinay is a social media influencer and close friend of Elvish Yadav," news agency PTI quoted Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shakti Mohan Avasthy as saying.
Both the accused were booked under the same charges as Elvish Yadav, which include the consumption of drugs, organising such parties and trafficking of wildlife species.
Yadav was among six people named in an FIR lodged at Noida's Sector 49 Police Station on November 3 last year. The five other accused, identified as snake charmers, were arrested in November but are currently out on bail.
Elvish Yadav, however, has refuted the charges of involvement in the case. Notably, BJP leader Maneka Gandhi has in the past accused the YouTuber of involvement in illegally selling snake venom and sought arrest.
Yadav was briefly stopped for questioning by Rajasthan Police in Kota on November last year, while he was travelling with his friends.
