On October 17, 2016, actress Shruti Ulfat posted pictures as well as videos on her social media account where she was seen not only with the cobra around her neck but also holding it.
A day after actress Shruti Ulfat was arrested along with three others for posting videos on social media posing with a spectacled cobra, the Thane Territorial Forest officers have launched a manhunt to nab the person who had provided the reptile. On Thursday, the actress along with other accused including actor Pearl Puri and production manager Nitin Solanki and Utkarsh Bali managed to secure bail for Rupees 15000 after the Borivali court had ordered judicial custody till February 16.
“The actors during investigation claimed that they were unaware about the rules and did not know that posing with a snake will land them into trouble, apart from that they also said they were unaware that the snake was highly venomous. Now our focus is on nabbing the main accused who is the person who brought them the cobra, which is protected under Schedule II of Wildlife Protected Act,” said Santosh Kank, Range Forest officer (RFO) from Thane Territorial wing who stated that capturing, handling and using a snake for making videos without permission was an offence under wildlife act.
Another forest officer said that few snake rescuers who matched the description provided by Ulfat and others were even called for identification but were allowed to go after the actors stated that it was not them.
"We will do everything possible to nab the main accused as his was the most serious crime in the entire matter that of capturing and providing the snake. It will also send a strong message to others who capture snake and perform stunts with them," said Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) Sunil Limaye, Thane Territorial
Sunish Kunju of PAWS who was the complainant in this case and kept following the issue with the forest department and even got them to send the video for the forensic investigation said that the main culprit was the person who provided the snake and hence it was extremely important for him to be put behind bars.
“We have been rescuing snakes including cobra and it is extremely surprising that the reptile which is extremely alert and aggressive simply stayed still without even attacking once in spite of being handled by so many people and even being put around the neck of the actress. We suspect foul play as the snake could have been harmed in many ways to ensure it kept still,” said Kunju adding that they are even trying to find out independently about who the snake rescuer who brought the cobra to the set of the serial Naagarjuna.
Kunju also claimed that one way to know about the one who provided them with the snake was by getting the device used to click images and make videos as it would have all the photo and surely even the snake rescuer would be in one of them. “It's surprising that Forest department could not get a lead about the main accused but we will keep the pressure to book the main accused in this case,” he said.
“Wild animals can not be used in films even for promotional video without a permission from designated authority like Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) under the wildlife act. Also, we don't know the source of the snake as well how much it was hurt physically so that actress can be comfortable. So legally both wildlife act and cruelty towards animal act can be applied as per schedules on the accused who supplied the snake,” said Kedar Bhide, Herpetologist Kedar Bhide who is Founder President of Reptile Rescue and Study Centre (RRSC).
What is the case?
On October 17, 2016, Shruti Ulfat posted pictures as well as videos on her social media account where she was seen not only with the cobra around her neck but also holding it. After the video became viral several animal activists lodged complaints against the actress with police as well as forest department for filming with the cobra without permission.
During initial investigation, the actors and production managers claimed it was special effects but the forensic report of the video sent by the forest department to Kalina lab reported that it was not special effects after which the actress and three others were arrested on February 8.
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