Youtuber Elvish Yadav has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to appear before its Lucknow unit on July 23. The questioning is associated to a money laundering case linked to a snake venom-rave party incident. The case was originally registered by the Gautam Buddh Nagar police, according to senior ED officials on Tuesday.
PMLA Case And Earlier Arrest
In May this year, the ED filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) concerning the snake venom incident, citing the large sums of money involved. Yadav was initially arrested on March 17 and placed in judicial custody for 14 days. He was granted bail by a local court five days later.
Questioning of Close Associates
On Monday, Haryana singer Rahul Yadav, also known as Fazilpuriya, was questioned at the ED's Lucknow office. The inquiry revolved around the use of a snake in one of his popular songs. Other associates of Elvish Yadav, including Ishwar Yadav and Vinay Yadav, have also been questioned previously.
On April 6, the Gautam Buddh Nagar police submitted a 1,200-page chargesheet under the Wildlife Conservation Act against Elvish Yadav and seven others. This was almost six months after the initial FIR was registered. The chargesheet details the smuggling of snakes and the use of their venom at parties. Elvish Yadav has denied the charges, labelling them as “baseless and fake.” The police subsequently dropped charges against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, admitting that including these charges was a "mistake."
