NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Cyber Cell has rejected YouTuber Samay Raina’s request to record his statement via videoconferencing in the ongoing ‘India’s Got Latent’ controversy.
Raina, currently in the US, had cited prior commitments and stated that he wouldn’t be able to return to India before March 17.
However, the Cyber Cell has directed him to appear in person on February 18.
The controversy erupted after a remark made by podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia during the show. He had asked a contestant, “Would you rather watch your parents or join in once and stop it forever?”
Following public outrage, multiple complaints were lodged against Allahbadia, Raina, social media influencer Apoorva Makhija, and the show’s organisers.
In response, Raina took to Instagram, announcing that he had deleted all videos of India’s Got Latent from his channel and was cooperating with authorities.
“Everything happening has been overwhelming. My only aim was to entertain. I will fully cooperate to ensure a fair investigation,” he stated.
On Friday, Allahbadia approached the Supreme Court, seeking to merge multiple FIRs filed against him across different states.
His lawyer, senior advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, mentioned the case before a bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, highlighting that his client had been summoned by Assam Police. The CJI, however, declined an urgent hearing, stating that the case had already been assigned a listing date.
On February 11, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed that Guwahati Police had registered an FIR against Allahbadia, Raina, Ashish Chanchlani, Jaspreet Singh, Apoorva Makhija, and others for allegedly promoting obscenity and engaging in explicit discussions on the show.
FIRs have been filed in both Maharashtra and Assam against them.