Maharashtra Cyber authorities questioned famous YouTubers Ranveer Allahbadia and Ashish Chanchlani for close to five hours on Monday in relation to the current India's Got Latent scandal, sources disclosed. The two presented themselves to the agency to make their statements following earlier missed summons.
Both social media personalities traveled separately to the cyber headquarters in Navi Mumbai. Allahbadia and Chanchlani are under a wider investigation by Maharashtra Cyber and the Mumbai Police for obscenity charges against comments made on YouTube show by comedian Samay Raina. Allahbadia, whose online persona is BeerBiceps, faced backlash after his insensitive comments regarding parents and sex generated outrage across the country.
Reached at the cyber office at 11:30 am, both social media influencers had their statements taped in the following hours, a government official revealed without going into specifics. Allahbadia, who wore a black face mask to keep the media at bay, left the headquarters in a private taxi around 5 pm, while Chanchlani left an hour later in his car.
Widening Investigation and Legal Scrutiny
More than 50 people associated with the show, such as guests, judges, comedians, and social media personalities, have been called in by authorities as part of their investigation into charges of vulgarity. Allahbadia, one of the key figures in the scandal, was given interim protection from arrest by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The court, however, did not mince words, terming his comments "vulgar" and saying that he had a "dirty mind" that shamed society.
The court has directed Allahbadia to assist the probe and hand over his passport to the Thane police so he cannot travel abroad without permission. His next court date is March 3.
Several FIRs and Summons Issued
Allahbadia has been cited in various FIRs filed in various states. A complaint was filed in Guwahati on February 17 by a resident of the city, who accused him of propagating obscenity on an openly accessible internet platform.
The case also charges a few other personalities who were involved with India's Got Latent, including host Samay Raina, YouTuber Ashish Chanchlani, comedians Jaspreet Singh and Apoorva Makhija, and celebrity guest Rakhi Sawant.
Sawant has been called to present himself before Maharashtra Cyber on February 27. In the meantime, the National Commission for Women (NCW) had earlier directed Allahbadia, Raina, and others to present themselves on February 17. Owing to security reasons and logistical issues, several of them did not show up in person.
Allahbadia, citing death threats, had sought a three-week delay in his NCW hearing, which has now been scheduled for March 6, officials confirmed.
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