Elvish case: Before SC hearing, Ghaziabad cops provide cover to witnesses

Noida: After months of judicial orders falling on deaf ears, cops in Ghaziabad scrambled to provide security to two key witnesses in the Elvish Yadav snake venom case — just hours before a contempt hearing in the Supreme Court on Monday.The witnesses, Gaurav Gupta and his brother Saurabh, had allegedly been receiving threats ever since the former — a People for Animals (PFA) member from Rajnagar Extension — filed a case last Nov at Noida's Sector 49 police station. He accused Elvish and his associates of supplying snake venom at rave parties, triggering an investigation and a string of arrests, including that of the YouTuber himself.Despite clear court directives, police protection for the Gupta brothers was repeatedly delayed.

The district judges of Noida and Ghaziabad, as well as the Supreme Court itself, issued orders mandating security for them under the Witness Protection Scheme. Yet, according to Gaurav, these instructions were ignored at every level.

"The district judge of Noida wrote to his Ghaziabad counterpart on Sept 3, 2024, relaying the witness protection committee's decision and requesting police action, but nothing happened," Gupta told TOI.

Still facing threats, Gupta escalated the matter to the Supreme Court in April. On May 13, the apex court ordered the Nandgram SHO in Ghaziabad to provide immediate police protection. Even then, the local police failed to act, forcing Gupta to file a contempt application last month.It was only on the eve of Monday's Supreme Court hearing that Ghaziabad police commissioner J Ravinder Goud intervened, suspending Dharmpal Singh, the Kotwali SHO, for negligence and finally assigning security to the witnesses.Dhawal Jaiswal, DCP (city), confirmed that an inquiry found Singh had not complied with the court's order, leading to his suspension and a departmental probe against him. Advocate Jugal Kishore, representing the petitioners, told the Supreme Court on Monday that security had now been provided, prompting the bench to defer the case to Nov.