Noida Police sends notice to Elvish Yadav, UP minister says no celebrity bigger than law
Noida, Nov 7: The Noida Police sent a notice Tuesday to Youtuber Elvish Yadav asking him to join the investigation into suspected use of snake venom for rave parties, even as Uttar Pradesh minister Arun Saxena said no celebrity is bigger than the law, which will take its own course.
The police have also applied for remand of the five people who were arrested over the case and sent to judicial custody, an official said.
Yadav, winner of reality show Bigg Boss OTT, is among those named in an FIR by the Noida Police over suspected use of snake venom for rave parties.
Asked about the case, Saxena, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Forest and Environment, said, "The law will take its course. No celebrity, however big, is not bigger than the law."
Five people were arrested on November 3 while the police here said it was probing the alleged role of Yadav in the case, lodged under provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Nine snakes, including five cobras, were rescued from the party banquet while 20 ml of suspected snake venom was also seized.
A senior Noida police officer here confirmed that a notice under Section 41 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been sent to Yadav to join the ongoing investigation in the case.
"We have also sought the police custody of the five accused in the case who were arrested last week," the officer said, requesting anonymity.
A sub-inspector, who was also incharge of the local Sector 49 police station where the FIR was registered, has been shunted while the the matter transferred to another Noida police station, officials said on Monday.
Police said they were investigating the role of Yadav in the whole episode who was not found at the spot on November 3.
The 26-year-old YouTuber has refuted all charges against him and expressed willingness to cooperate in the police investigation.
The case was lodged on the complaint of an officer of animal rights group PFA (People For Animals). PFA chairperson and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi has accused Yadav of involvement in illegally selling snake venom and sought his immediate arrest.
On November 4, Yadav was briefly stopped for questioning by police in Rajasthan's Kota while he was travelling with his friends in a car but was let off soon.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
