On Thursday (2nd November) evening, the Noida police arrested 5 people for allegedly supplying snakes to YouTuber and Big Boss OTT 2 winner Elvish Yadav.
As per reports, the snakes were of endangered species and were used by Yadav for his videos on Instagram and YouTube. It is claimed that venom extracted from the snakes was supplied for ‘rave parties’, which were allegedly organised by Elvish the social media star.
The Noida police have recovered 9 snakes, including 5 cobras from the accused men. The reptiles were reportedly caught from different places and their venom was sold at exorbitant prices. “They used to collect a hefty sum of money for supplying the venom at parties,” the police said.
Shocked To See Such People Sitting On Such Posts. Jis Hisab Se Ilzaam Lagaye Hai madam ne us hisab ki maafi bhi tayar rakhe🙏🏻 https://t.co/jSpaQM0vQs
— Elvish Yadav (@ElvishYadav) November 3, 2023
Elvish Yadav has meanwhile rubbished the allegations levelled against him. He hit out at Maneka Gandhi and ‘People for Animals (PFA)’, the NGO which filed complaint against the YouTuber.
The serious nature of the allegations has brought into focus the abuse of ‘snake venom’, a highly toxic saliva emitted by the fangs of the snakes, by humans.
In a research paper published by Aseem Mehra, Debashish Basu and Sandeep Grover in the ‘Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine’ in 2018, they reviewed the existing literature and case reports on the use of ‘snake venom’ in India for recreational purposes.
The researchers found that the abuse of the toxic saliva was common in patients with a history of opioid (commonly called drug) abuse. The snakes commonly used for such intoxication include cobras, kraits, and green-coloured snakes.
The study found that those using snake venom would take the bite from the reptile either on their tongue or feet. “As was our patient, previously reported cases have also described the experience of snake bite to be associated with happiness, grandiosity, and excessive sleepiness,” the researchers noted.
They also noted one case of abuse [pdf] of snake venom at rave parties in Mumbai in 2015, which is similar to the allegations levelled against Elvish Yadav.
“A 22 year old Muslim male sweeper educated up to the 10th standard was brought by hisbrother with a history of brown sugar chasing since the past 4 years with a daily consumption 2-3 Sachets/day. His last consumption was 5 days prior to admission. He attended a rave party in Mumbai Suburbs where he was administered a snake bite after chasing brown sugar on the tongue as everyone in the party was doing so. The snake was kept in a box with a hole on its top. The person had to keep tongue on the hole then snake would bite the tongue. After the bite he would have drowsiness and he would sleep for 12-14 hours. He had attended similar parties after that and would regular enjoythe effects of a snake bite,” the case read.
The study and review of existing literature on ‘snake venom’ abuse revealed that those using it belong to a ‘high socio-economic’ status. Most of them wanted to ‘get a high’, reported no fatalities (due to intake of too little venom) and no withdrawal symptoms as such.
“However, in occasional cases, patients developed the phenomenon of tolerance and indulged in more frequent snake bite trips,” the researchers noted. Most of the abusers felt little to no complication (besides jerky movement). The youngest patient was 18 years old and the eldest one was 52.
“The review of literature suggests that occasional patients use snake venom as a substitute or additional agent to get high,” the researchers concluded. The abuse of snakes through hunting, and possession is illegal under various schedules of the Wildlife Protection Act, which was enacted in 1972.
One interesting thing to note from the study conducted by Aseem Mehra, Debashish Basu and Sandeep Grover is the testimony of their 33-year-old patient. He informed that snake bites for recreation were common in his home State of Rajasthan.
“According to the patient, often snake charmers give this kind of bite only to those people who are known to them and best to his knowledge no person had lost his their life after the snake bite,” they added. Some individuals are also reported to have used snake bite as a substitute for opioids.
References:
- Mehra, A., Basu, D., & Grover, S. (2018). Snake Venom Use as a Substitute for Opioids: A Case Report and Review of Literature. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 40(3), 269-271. https://doi.org/10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_216_17
- Umate, M. K., Khot, P., Salukhe, R., & Kale, V. (2015). Snake venom abuse in rave parties: A case report. Indian J Ment Health, 2, 227-9.
