The Noida Police has arrested five people for the alleged use of snake venom at a rave party besides booking Bigg Boss winner Elvish Yadav in the case, officials said on Friday.
Nine snakes were also rescued from the possession of the arrestees, who had landed at a banquet hall in Sector 51 on Thursday for the party, which was a trap laid by an animal rights group -- People for Animals (PFA)-- the officials said.
The FIR was lodged under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and for criminal conspiracy following a complaint by PFA against six people, including Yadav, for partying at a banquet hall in Sector 51 where snake venom was made available, police said.
"Five people were arrested from the banquet hall and nine snakes were rescued from their possession," a police spokesperson said.
Those held have been identified as Rahul (32), Teetunath (45), Jaikaran (50), Narayan (50) and Ravinath (45), all residents of Moharband village in southeast Delhi's Badarpur, police said.
In the FIR, complainant Gaurav Gupta of PFA, run by BJP parliamentarian Maneka Gandhi, claimed that his group had come to know that Yadav, a Youtuber, used to make videos with live snakes and snake venom in Noida and other parts of NCR with his associates and illegally organised rave parties.
Mr. Yadav, also a winner of reality show Bigg Boss, could not be contacted immediately for his response.
