Media365
Samay Raina was questioned for over five hours by the Maharashtra Cyber cell today. The officials recorded his statement in a case registered over objectionable remarks on his YouTube show, India’s Got Latent. Raina, who recently returned from abroad, appeared before the probe agency at its headquarters in Mhape and recorded his statement in which he tendered an apology for his conduct on the show.
Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent sparked nationwide outrage after a panellist Ranveer Allahbadia posed a lewd and incestuous question regarding parental intercourse. His question snowballed into a controversy and many guests who appeared on the show were summoned by the cyber cell. Allahbadia himself has appeared for questioning. However, Samay Raina skipped the first two summons issued in his name.
On March 24, he appeared before the cyber cell officials and apologised for his conduct on the show. As per sources close to the cyber cell, in the hours-long grilling session, the YouTuber admitted his mistake and assured the officials that it would not happen again. He expressed regret for his comments and shared, “I will be more careful next time”. Talking to the officials, Samay Raina also claimed that the entire incident has affected his mental health and it reflected in his performance at the recently concluded Canada tour. He concluded his statement by saying, “I regret what I said, and I take cognizance that it was wrong”.
Maharashtra Cyber, a cyber and information security division, is probing the case registered against podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia and others after he triggered a massive uproar with his crass remarks about parents and sex on Raina’s web show India’s Got Latent. The agency had summoned Raina several times to record his statement in connection with the case. He was first summoned by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell on February 18. The Youtuber skipped the appearance and requested to undertake the questioning over video conferencing, citing that he is not in the country owing to a tour. His request was denied and he was asked to reappear on March 18. Samay skipped the second summon too. He finally visited the Maharashtra cyber cell head office in person today.
As per PTI, the comedian reached the office in the afternoon, recorded his statement for more than five hours, and left the premises at 6: 45 pm. Until now Samay has not apologised for the controversy on social media. He had removed all episodes of his show from YouTube and has cancelled all his shows as part of the India tour – Samay Unfiltered. Several guests and panellists who appeared on India’s Got Latent have been issued summons by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell.
