TV actress arrested for posting video with protected cobra
Television actress Shruti Ulfat has been arrested for posting a video on social media in October 2016 featuring a protected cobra species. Reportedly, the snake was used during the shooting of her television show 'Nagarjuna-Ek Yodhha'. Ulfat has been charged under Wildlife Protection Act 1972, according to which using the cobra for shooting or in pictures is an offence. nnnnn
TV actress Shruti Ulfat and three others have been sent to judicial custody after she was produced at the Borivali Court for posing with a cobra around four months back.  Shruti Ulfat and three others were arrested on February 8, for apparently posing with a rare species of snake, and sharing the picture on a social media site. According to recent reports, the actress has been charged with a violation of Wildlife Act 1972, Sections 9, 39, 48a, and 51.The actress had been shooting with the snake for her show Nagarjuna--Ek Yodhha. Nitin Solanki, Utkarsh Bali and Pearl Puri, a part of the production team have also been arrested.   A video which featured the actress with the snake was sent to the forest department, according to a report in Pinkvilla.Shruti was shooting for the TV series, 'Nagarjuna - Ek Yoddha', based on the mythical Naag Lok, which is a part of Hindu puranas and epics like the Mahabharata. Shruti has also worked in movies such as Raaz, Aetbaar and Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan.The incident took place in October 2016. Cobra is a reptile protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act, 1972. Pawan Sharma, the founder of RAWW, a wildlife conservation NGO shared his feelings on the subject on Facebook and wrote, "Actress Shruti Ulfat and three others from Nagarjun daily soap booked by Mumbai Range of Thane Territorial wing of the forest department for using Spectacled Cobra, protected species under Wildlife Protection Act, Schedule 2. They were produced in court yesterday and court gave forest department their custody for a day to know and find the people who supplied snake to them. They will be produced in court again today. When I had assisted the Anti Poaching Unit of the Forest Department for primary investigations at the Film City in October last year the actress made us wait for an hour with her rude staff which did not cooperate and all of them had misled the forest department stating that it was VFX /Graphics and not a real snake. However forensic reports in January this year revealed that the snake was real and the responsible people have started facing the heat. Posing for entertainment with a protected species which is one of the top venomous snakes of the country is unethical, illegal and misleading. 