The Mumbai Police have so far recorded the statements of seven persons, including social media influencer Apoorva Mukhija, in connection with controversial comments made by Ranveer Allahbadia on YouTube show “India’s Got Latent”, officials said on Thursday (February 13, 2025).
The development comes a day after the Maharashtra Cyber Department registered an FIR against the show over allegations of offensive content.
Social media influencer Mr. Allahbadia is likely to appear before the city police in a day or two, they said.
Nilotpal Mrinal Pandey, a functionary of the Maharashtra BJP’s Uttar Bhartiya Morcha, filed a complaint against Mr. Allahbadia and others. He alleged that derogatory language was used against persons with disabilities on the show. He, being a person with disability himself, demanded strict action against the participants.
A team of the Assam Police is in also Mumbai to investigate a case in connection with the controversy, an official said.
The team visited Khar police station here on Wednesday (February 12, 2025) and also met senior police officials, he said.
The Guwahati Police on Monday (February 10, 2025) registered a case against Mr. Allahbadia and four others.
The Maharashtra Cyber Department has summoned more than 40 persons, including Mr. Allahbadia and comedian Samay Raina, who hosts “India’s Got Latent”, asking them to join the probe into a case registered over Mr. Allahbadia’s controversial remarks on the YouTube reality show.
The cyber police, which have registered a First Information Report (FIR) in the case, issued notices on Tuesday to the social media influencer and others including `guests’ and `judges’ who had participated in the past episodes of “India’s Got Latent”.
So far, at least seven persons, including Mukhija, other social media influencers and Mr. Allahbadia’s manager, have appeared before the police and recorded their statements, an official said.
The remaining persons, including Mr. Allahbadia, are likely to appear before the police on Thursday, he said.
The persons who are out of station are also likely to appear before the police in a day or two, the official said.
Mr. Allahbadia, who has more than 16 million followers across social media platforms, landed in the soup after a video of his controversial comments on parents and sex started making the rounds on social media and led to a massive debate on freedom of speech and what constitutes decency.
He tried to defuse the situation by issuing a video apology where he called his comment a “lapse in judgement” but the issue has refused to die down.
The issue has been raised in Parliament by Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske, who called for a law to regulate social media.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday (February 11, 2025) asked Mr. Allahabadia, Samay Raina, Apoorva Mukhija, Jaspreet Singh and Ashish Chanchlani, as well as the show’s producers Tushar Poojari and Saurabh Bothra to appear before it on February 17 in New Delhi.
(With inputs from PTI)
