On October 17, 2016 Shruti posted a clip on Instagram in which she was seen posing with cobra coiled around her neck and hand. The reptile, Indian spectacled cobra, is protected under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, hence it is an offence to capture and post pictures or videos with it.
After several animal activists lodged complaints against her, Thane Forest department arrested the actress along with actor Pearl Puri and two producers- Utkarsh Bali and Nitin Solanki. After being produced before the Borivli Court they have been kept in custody of Thane forest range.
The video was initially sent to Forensic lab for testing as the production team claimed it to be a graphic content but proving them false, it was asserted that real cobra was used in the Instagram video.
Watch the video here
Santosh Kank informed DNA that both actors along with producers have been booked under Section 9, 39, 48 (a) and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act. “We are now investigating who caught and provided the cobra and what happened to it as it amounts to hunting and capturing a protected species and once we get information even those will be booked."
Shruti Ulfat was last seen in Zee TV show 'Jamai Raja' and has also worked in films such as Raaz, Aetbaar and Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan.